Thiruvananthapuram: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its second list of 39 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala. The BJP has fielded K. Ranjith from Dharmadom against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Former Governor of Mizoram, Kummanam Rajasekharan, has been fielded from Aranmula. The BJP has named Ashwini M.L. from Kasaragod, P.R. Shivashankar from Ernakulam, Vatsala Prasanna Kumar from Paravur, and Renu Suresh from Kongad as its candidates.
The BJP had released its first list of 47 candidates on March 19, in which the party’s State President, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, was named the candidate for the Nemom seat, and India’s former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, was named the candidate for the Kazhakkoottam seat. Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan filed his nomination papers today from the Dharmadom Assembly constituency.
Earlier, the Congress party had released its list of 55 candidates. The party named Kerala Congress Committee President Sunny Joseph as its candidate for the Peravoor seat. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has been fielded from the Paravur seat. K. Muraleedharan—a former MP and the son of veteran Congress leader, former Kerala Chief Minister, and former Union Industries Minister K. Karunakaran—is contesting from the Vattiyoorkavu seat.
The Election Commission announced on March 15 that the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections would be held in a single phase on April 9, and the votes would be counted on May 4. The term of the current Assembly is set to expire on May 23. The Model Code of Conduct has come into force, thereby initiating the electoral process for the 140-member State Legislative Assembly. This Assembly is also known as the Kerala Niyamasabha. The term of the current Assembly is scheduled to end on May 23, 2026. Both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led UDF aim to wrest power from the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF and gain control of the 140-member Legislative Assembly. The LDF-led government has governed the state for nearly a decade.
Assam Elections: BJP Releases First List of 88 Candidates
On Thursday, the BJP released its first list of 88 candidates for the Assam Legislative Assembly elections. The list includes the name of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who will contest from the Jalukbari constituency. The party has fielded former Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi as its candidate for the Dispur Assembly seat. Bordoloi joined the BJP here on Wednesday in the presence of Sarma and other party leaders.
According to the list, Bhupen Kumar Borah—who recently quit the Congress to join the BJP—will contest from the Bihpuria seat. Madhavi Das will contest from Birsing-Jharua, Jyotsna Kalita from Chamaria, and Nilima Devi from Mangaldoi. The first list of candidates was finalized by the BJP’s Central Election Committee during a meeting held here on Wednesday evening, chaired by party president Nitin Nabin.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and other members of the BJP’s election committee attended this meeting. Dilip Saikia, the chief of the BJP’s Assam unit, was also present at the meeting.
