BJP names Pon Radhakrishnan for Kanyakumari LS bypoll

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced the name of senior party leader Pon Radhakrishnan as their candidate for the April 6 by-election to the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu.

The by-election was necessitated in Kanyakumari as H Vasanthakumar passed away after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Radhakrishnan had won from the constituency in 1996 and again in 2014. He was the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Shipping between May 2014 and May 2019.

However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he was defeated by Congress' Vasanthakumar.

The BJP central election committee's meeting was held on March 4 under the chairmanship of BJP President JP Nadda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and other members of the central election committee attended the meeting.

Tamil Nadu assembly elections are also slated to be held on April 6.

( With inputs from ANI )