All is not well in Kerala BJP after the party announced its first list of candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
Former MLA PC George, who recently merged his party Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) with the BJP with high hopes about getting ticket to contest from Pathanamthitta seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is upset over party denying ticket to him.
George made his displeasure public by saying that Anil Antony, who has got the party ticket from Pathanamthitta, is not familiar with the constituency. PC George said that the people of Pathanamthitta wanted him to contest from there
Speaking to media persons in Kottayam, George said that Pathanamthitta is difficult for Anil Antony, who has been declared as the party candidate for the seat.
Despite speculation that PC George might contest in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has finally decided to field Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and veteran Congress leader AK Antony, in Pathanamthitta constituency.
The BJP announced the first list of candidates contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.
George hinted that it was because of outside influence that the party denied the ticket to him. “Pinarayi Vijayan and Vellappally Natesan(SNDP leader) did not want me to contest in Pathanamthitta,” said PC George.
With George’s induction into the party, the BJP leaders expected that his proximity with Church leaders could be used to reach out to the Christian community in Kerala, particularly its Catholic segment in central Kerala.
Two Union Ministers, three women and two minority faces are among the BJP’s candidates for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala that were announced on Saturday.
As per the list, Union Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar will contest from Thiruvananthapuram, where he will take on three-time MP Shashi Tharoor. Another Union Minister V Muraleedharan will contest from Attingal.
The Kerala candidates announced on Saturday by the BJP are Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Thiruvananthapuram), V Muralidharan (Attingal), Suresh Gopi (Thrissur), Shobha Surendran (Alappuzha), Abdul Salam (Malappuram), ML Ashwini (Kasaragod), MT Ramesh (Kozhikode), Anil Antony (Pathanamthitta), C Krishnakumar (Palakkad), C Raghunath (Kannur), Praful Krishna (Vadakara) and Nivedita Subramaniam (Ponnani).