The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its second list of 39 candidates for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, adding to the 47 names announced earlier. With this, the party has declared 86 candidates in total for the 140-member Assembly.
Polling in Kerala is scheduled for April 9, 2026, while counting of votes will take place on May 4. The majority mark in the Assembly is 70 seats.
Prominent names in the second list include former Mizoram Governor and ex-BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, who will contest from Aranmula against Health Minister Veena George of CPI-M. K Ranjith has been fielded from Dharmadam against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Other candidates include B Gopalakrishnan from Guruvayoor, Ashwini M.L. from Kasaragod, PR Sivasankar from Ernakulam, Vathsala Prasanna Kumar from Paravur, and Renu Suresh from Kongad. The list also features six women candidates, taking the BJP’s total women nominees in Kerala to 13.
Party leaders said the candidate selection reflects BJP’s strategy to strengthen its presence in Kerala by fielding experienced leaders alongside fresh faces. Observers note that the contests in Aranmula and Dharmadam will be closely watched as high-profile battles in the state.
