"Will face elections as team, win all seats in Kerala": K Sudhakaran on his candidacy from Kerala's Kannur

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 8 (ANI): Following the announcement of his candidature from Kerala's Kannur for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader K Sudhakaran said on Friday that the fielded candidates would face the elections as a team and exuded confidence that the grand old party would bag all 20 seats in the state.
"We will face the elections as a team and win all 20 seats in Kerala," Sudhakaran said while speaking to reporters.
In reaction to late Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran's daughter Padmaja Venugopal's entry into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress leader said, "The CPM is facilitating the BJP in Kerala. Padmaja's entry into the BJP was facilitated by Pinarayi Vijayan."
"The problem is not her departure from the party. We are saddened because K Karunakaran's daughter left the Congress party," he added.
Venugopal, earlier on Thursday, joined the BJP as the crucial Lok Sabha polls draw near. She also said that she was not happy with the Congress party.
"I am so happy, A little bit tense because I stood with my party for so many years. For the first time, I am changing a party, because I was not happy with the Congress party for so many years. Especially, from the last assembly elections," Venugopal said while addressing the media.
Meanwhile, the Congress has released its first list of 39 candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls.
The names have been announced for Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshwadeep, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telangana and Tripura.
Of the total 39 candidates announced, 16 are from Kerala, seven from Karnataka and six from Chhattisgarh, and four from Telangana. Two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Lakshwadeep.
A total of 16 candidates have been announced from Kerala, including Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram, who is set to contest BJP leader and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar, and Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, the seats they won in 2019.
In the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the grand old party bagged 19 out of 20 seats in Kerala, while the BJP failed to open its account in the state. However, the BJP gained a vote share of 15 per cent.
The BJP, in its first candidate list of 195 names, fielded 12 candidates from Kerala.
The Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held in April-May this year. (ANI)