Kerala Polls: Metroman Sreedharan to contest for BJP from Palakkad

New Delhi, Mar 14: BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh said the saffron party will be contesting in Kerala for 115 seats and the rest of 25 seats will be left for four parties.

The BJP fielded ''metroman'' E Sreedharan from Palakkad and former Union Minister KJ Alphons from the Kanjirappally assembly seat.

Twenty five seats have been given to its four NDA allies--BDJS (Bharath Dharma Jana Sena), AIADMK,Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha (JRS) and Kamaraj Congress, party general secretary Arun Singh told the mediain Delhi.

'Metroman' Sreedharan had joined the BJP recently.

Two film actors-- Suresh Gopi (Thrissur), who is a Rajya Sabha MP and Krishnakumar (Thiruvananthapuram central)are also in the fray.

Former Union minister K J Alphons will try his luck from Kanjirapallyand former DGP Jacob Thomas from Irinjalakuda.

Firebrand BJP leader Surendran,who had led the Sabarimala agitation in 2018 against entry ofwomen of all ages to the Lord Ayyappa temple following the Supreme Court verdict, has been fielded from Manjeshwaram in Kasaragod district and Konni in Pathanamthitta district. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2016 assembly polls from Manjeshwaram and had lost by a meagre 89 votes.

Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajashekharan has been fielded from Nemom, the lone seat won by the BJP in the 2016 assembly polls when former Union minister O Rajagopal was elected.

Senior leaders C K Padmanabhan will take on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Dharmadam in Kannur, while P K Krishnadas will battle it out at Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram.

Well knownacademicianand retired Calicut University Vice Chancellor Dr Abdul Salam has been fielded from Tirur and Manikuttan, the first tribal engineer,will be in the fray from Mananthavady (reserved) seat.

The saffron party, which has fielded 12 women candidates, has not given a seat tosenior leader Shobha Surendran.

Rajashekharan, a former BJP state president, told reporters here that people in Kerala are yearning for a change from the alternate governments being formed over the years by the CPI(M) led LDF and Congress led UDF.

''Many known personalities are fighting on behalf of BJP in this election. The people are done with both the fronts.

The wind is blowing in favour of the NDA.

The list of candidates is a representation of those who have made their mark in society.

I am really confident about my candidature in the Nemom constituency,'' Rajashekharan told the media.

BJP state chief Surendran said the party lost Manjeshwaram constituency last time due to the 'adjustment politics' between the Congress and the BJP.

''We lost Manjeshwaram last time because of the adjustment politics between the Congress and the CPI(M). We will fight to get back that constituency.

Konni is dear to me due to the Sabarimala issue,''he said.

He evaded a direct reply when asked which constituency he would leave if elected from both seats, saying many leaders in the country have followed this format.