BJP finalises seat-sharing pact in Kerala

New Delhi, March 20

The BJP today finalised a seat-sharing deal with the BDJS and Kerala Congress in the southern state for the Lok Sabha poll, party leaders said.

The BJP would field candidates for 14 seats in Kerala, while the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) would contest five seats and PC Thomas-led Kerala Congress one, said Muralidhar Rao, national general secretary of the BJP.

Announcing the seat-sharing pact, Rao said the BJP-led NDA was getting support from all sections in the state. The three parties have also finalised the seats they want to contest, he said.

Sources said former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan was likely to be BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram against Congress’ Shashi Tharoor.

BDJS chief Thushar Vellapally was likely to be candidate from Thrissur, they said.

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and the state will go to the polls on April 23.

The BJP is aiming to open its account in the state, where its ideological mentor, the RSS, has a significant presence. In the Assembly poll of 2016, the BJP made inroads in parts of Kerala, which has alternatively been ruled by the CPM-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF. — PTI