New Delhi: Eyeing better returns from the South in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP on Saturday announced candidates for some of the seats in Kerala and Telangana. Among the expected names on the BJP’s ticket were former Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Union Minister and current state chief G Kishan Reddy.
In neighbouring Kerala, where the BJP has historically faired poorly in Lok Sabha elections, the party, this time has fielded Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram. Chandrashekhar, who recently stepped down as a Rajya Sabha member, could potentially be pitted against Congress heavyweight Shashi Tharoor if the grand old party decides to repeat him from the seat.
Chandrasekhar is the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology.
Further, the BJP fielded Congress stalwart and former Union Minister AK Antony’s son, Anil Antony from Pathanamthitta. Among the other notable names on the BJP ticket from Kerala are veteran leaders Suresh Gopi from Thrissur, Shobha Surendran from Alappuzha, and Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan from Attingal.
Check BJP's first list from Kerala:
Anil Antony, who was the former head of the Kerala Congress digital media cell, joined BJP after slamming the grand old party over its stand on the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Check BJP's first list from Telangana:
Among other leaders in fray from Telangana are Arvind Dharmapuri from Nizamabad, Madhavi Latha from Hyderabad, a seat which is currently represented by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. Etala Rajender has been fielded from Malkajgiri, Konda Vishveshwar Reddy from Chelvella, and BB Patil from Zahirabad.
At a recent public event in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was hopeful that the BJP would win 10 seats from Kerala.
