Stitching up electoral alliances across the country, the BJP on Wednesday finalised its seat-sharing deal in Kerala, tying up with the BDJS and the Kerala Congress for the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP will field candidates in 14 seats, while the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) will contest five seats and PC Thomas-led Kerala Congress one, said BJP national general secretary Muralidhar Rao.

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

Sources said former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan is likely to be BJP’s candidate from Thiruvananthapuram against Congress’ Shashi Tharoor. BDJS chief Thushar Vellapally is likely to be candidate from Thrissur, they said.

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and the State will go to poll 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 State polls of 2016, the BJP made inroads in parts of Kerala, which has alternatively been ruled by the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF.

The BJP has already tied-up with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, where the party would contest five Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, continuing its unfinished task of finalising the Lok Sabha list of candidates, the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) again met on Wednesday and scrutinized the list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

According to party sources privy to the deliberation on nominations, the names a major chunk of candidates, particularly those contesting in the first phase, would be out only on March 22 evening.