India, March 16 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced its first list of 47 candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections scheduled on April 9.

State BJP chief and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been fielded from Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district, a seat the BJP had won in the 2016 elections. It is the only constituency the saffron party has ever won in the state Assembly. Currently, the seat is held by V Sivankutty, CPI(M) leader and state general education minister, who has been renominated by the party. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 local body polls, the BJP enjoyed a lead in the constituency.

Other senior leaders who have been fielded include former state chief K Surendr...