BJP fielded K Surendran against Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chosen K. Surendran as their candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which is currently held by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. This decision was made in the fifth list of nominees released by the party. So far, the BJP has finalized 398 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with a few withdrawals causing controversy.

K Surendran is the BJP state chief of Kerala

K Surendran was born on 10 March 1970 in Ulliyeri, Kerala, India. He is a well-known leader in northern Kerala who took on the role of BJP state president in 2020. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he ran for the Pathanamthitta constituency and came in third place. He was also arrested and spent more than a month in jail during the Sabarimala agitation in 2018.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chosen four more candidates other than him for the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala which are set to take place on April 26. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had previously announced candidates for 16 out of the 20 seats in the state.

Career Timeline

Surendran is a graduate of Zamorin's Guruvayoorappan College with a degree in Chemistry, began his political journey with the ABVP, the student organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

In his early years in politics, he held various positions such as director of the North Malabar District Cooperative Marketing Society and president of Disa Seva Sanskaarika Kendra. Additionally, he founded the board of directors of the National Youth Cooperative Society and served on the advisory board of the Nehru Youth Centre.

Surendran is married to Sheeba K. and the couple has two children. He has a net worth of 40 lakhs which he declared during 2021 Kerala Legislative elections. He has total 248 cases against him.

Wayanad constituency is stronghold of Congress

Historically, Wayanad has been a stronghold of the Congress party, much like Raebareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Congress has consistently won in Wayanad in the last three Lok Sabha elections with significant margins.

In the 2019 elections, Rahul Gandhi secured a massive victory in Wayanad after losing his previous constituency of Amethi to Smriti Irani. He defeated his nearest CPI candidate by over 4.31 lakh votes, gaining 64.8% of the vote share. The ruling party in Kerala, the CPI, has nominated veteran leader Annie Raja for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.