The BJP on Thursday released its second list of candidates contesting on 39 seats in the upcoming Keralam Assembly polls. Former Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, being fielded from Aranmula constituency, is one of the prominent names in the latest list. BJP district president ML Ashwini will contest from Kasargod. She had triggered speculation about internal discord within the party in a recent social media post. Apart from her, Sanil Kumar will contest from Kalliasseri, K Renjith from Dharmadam, and O Nidheesh from Thalassery. With this, the party has so far announced a total of 86 candidates for the Assembly polls. Robin Radhakrishnan will contest from Kundara. The BJP has also fielded advocate B Gopalakrishnan from Guruvayoor, and PR Sivasankar from Ernakulam. Notably, six women have been included in the second list, taking the total number of women nominees to 13, seven of whom were named in the first list.Meanwhile, dissent has now spread to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Kerala unit following the announcement of its first list of candidates for the Assembly elections, mirroring similar unrest within both the Indian National Congress and in the CPI(M). With Kerala set to go to the polls on April 9, all three fronts appear to be grappling with internal strains even before the campaign gathers full momentum.For the BJP, the turbulence is particularly significant.The party currently has no representation in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly, having lost its lone seat Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram The exclusion of senior leader PS Sreedharan Pillai (former state party president) has triggered sharp reactions within the party. Grassroots workers have openly protested at what they see as the sidelining of veterans who have long served the organisation.A major flashpoint has also been the decision to shift district president Sandeep Vachaspati from Chengannur to Haripad.Similarly, the decision to drop Reji Lukose in Kaduthuruthy after allotting the seat to BDJS has angered sections of the Knanaya community, raising concerns about alienating Christian support.The elections to the Kerala Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held on April 9.