Actor-filmmaker and military veteran Major Ravi will contest the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections from the Ottappalam constituency on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, with the party on Monday releasing its first list of 47 candidates for the polls. The list includes several key leaders across the state. Former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been fielded from Nemom, and former state president K Surendran from Manjeshwar.

Meanwhile, filmmaker and television personality Akhil Marar, winner of Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 5, will contest the election from the Thrikkakkara constituency as the candidate of Twenty20, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the BJP-led coalition of political parties. Akhil, who directed the 2021 Joju-starrer Oru Thathvika Avalokanam, had joined the party earlier this year in February.

Major Ravi is a retired officer of the Indian Army and a former National Security Guard commando. After retiring from the army, he entered cinema as a military consultant before making his directorial debut with Keerthi Chakra in 2006. The film earned him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay. In Malayalam cinema, he is best known for directing military dramas such as Keerthi Chakra, Kurukshetra, Kandahar and 1971: Beyond Borders, all of which starred Mohanlal as Major Mahadevan. As an actor, Major Ravi has appeared in more than 30 films. His most recent screen appearance was in Abrid Shine’s adult comedy Spa, which was released recently.

Kerala will go to the polls in a single phase on April 9, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. The Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has been in power since 2016.