Kerala polls: Firebrand woman leader Sobha Surendran to be BJP candidate in Kazhakootam

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 17: Firebrand woman leader Sobha Surendran has been fielded by BJP from the Kazhakootam constituency here for the April 6 state assembly polls. An announcement in this regard was made by the party''s central leadership on Wednesday.

Union Minister V Muraleedharan was fielded by the party in the 2016 assembly polls and was defeated by around 7000 votes. Sobha is expected to give a tough fight to LDF candidate Kadakkampally Surendran, Devaswom and Tourism minister, whois seeking re-election from the same seat. Dr S S Lal is the UDF candidate.

The BJP also released the names of its three other candidates on Wednesday. In Mananthavady (ST) seat, Mukundan Palliyara has been fielded. The party had earlier announced the name of Manikantan, belonging to the Paniya tribe and working as a teaching assistant in the Veterinary Science University in Wayanad. However, he had turned down the offer saying he was not keen on entering the political arena.

Bitty Sudheer has been fielded in Karunagappally, while M Sunil will be contesting from Kollam. Earlier, the saffron party had released its list of 112 candidates, including Metroman E Sreedharan, former Union minister K J Alphons, former DGP Jacob Thomas and actor Suresh Gopi.

BJP state president K Surendran has been fielded from two constituencies-- Konni and Manjeshwaram. The party has fielded candidates in 115 of the 140 constituencies and the remaining 25 seats have been given to its four NDA allies, including BDJS (Bharath Dharma Jana Sena) and AIADMK.