Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP has announced its candidates for the upcoming by-elections in Palakkad, Wayanad, and Chelakkara. C. Krishnakumar will contest in Palakkad, while K. Balakrishnan is the BJP candidate in Chelakkara as expected. With the announcement of Divya Haridas in Wayanad, the picture for the by-elections in Kerala has become clearer. The candidates were declared after the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting in Delhi.
Palakkad is considered the constituency with the highest chance of success for the BJP in Kerala. Last time, E. Sreedharan lost by only 3,859 votes. However, despite the UDF and LDF deciding on their candidates and conducting roadshows, the BJP had not announced its candidate until now.
Central Minister Suresh Gopi had requested the central leadership to bring in Shobha Surendran, who is expected to showcase a strong fight in all contesting areas. While several leaders publicly supported Shobha, C. Krishnakumar secured the seat, overcoming all these influences.
The name of BJP State President K. Surendran also came up in candidate selection but was set aside. There were indications that the BJP would field actress and BJP leader Khushboo against Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad. However, all rumors were dismissed as the candidate announcements were made today.
