Thiruvananthapuram, March 17 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced its first list of 47 candidates for the Kerala assembly elections on April 9, fielding state BJP chief and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram district and sitting Union minister of state George Kurian from Kanjirappally.

Nemom, which O Rajagopal won in 2016, is the only constituency the BJP has ever won in the coastal state. Currently, the seat is held by sitting general education minister V Sivankutty, who was renominated by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 local body polls, the BJP enjoyed a lead in the constituency.

Other senior leaders who were fielded incl...