Kerala BJP candidate Ashwini and actor Mukesh submit nominations
Thiruvananthapuram: Actor-turned-politician Mukesh of the CPI (M) and ML Ashwini of the BJP submitted their nomination papers in their respective constituencies on Thursday, as the filing of nominations for seats up for election in the Kerala Lok Sabha began.
Kerala’s elections for all 20 Lok Sabha seats are scheduled for April 26.
In the race for the Kollam Lok Sabha seat, actor Mukesh, a current lawmaker from the Kollam Assembly constituency, will face TV actor Krishnakumar of the BJP and four-term incumbent MP NK Premachandran of the RSP.
Premachandran defeated state finance minister KN Balagopal by a margin of more than 1.48 lakh votes in the 2019 elections.
Mukesh submitted his candidacy before the district returning officer on Thursday morning, escorted by the CPI’s senior brass and other Left leaders.
Popular women activist Ashwini submitted her candidacy as the BJP’s representative in the Manjeshwar block panchayat in Kasargod.
She was joined by a significant number of NDA leaders as well.
The BJP and Ashwini anticipate putting up a fierce struggle against their long-standing opponents.
The BJP would need to perform miracles if they want to mount a strong defense, as seen by the 2019 elections, whereby their candidate received only 1.76 lakh votes, compared to almost four lakh for the winner and runner-up.
