Former cricketer S Sreesanth, BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency, has formally entered the rough and tumble of campaign politics here on Thursday.

Escorted by local party leaders and attired in party colours, Sreesanth toured the markets and commercial establishments in the central business district seeking votes.

He said he has played 'so much cricket under the sun and through the rain' that the heat and dust of a peaking Kerala summer did not bother him much.

He said the whole party apparatus is behind him and hoped he would be able to mount a sustained and result-oriented campaign as the days progress.

Sreesanth is the surprise choice of the BJP in Thiruvananthapuram after actor Suresh Gopi politely refused the seat and said he would be happy campaigning for the party.

Sreesanth aside, the party has fielded its entire senior leadership in key constituencies in Thiruvanananthapuram district from where it expects to yield maximum electoral returns.

State BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan is contesting from Vattiyoorkavu; his predecessor V Muraleedharan from Kazhakkottam; and veteran leader and former union minister of state O Rajagopal from Nemom, among others.

All of them have hit the campaign trail in right earnest after being confirmed as party candidatures much earlier than their rivals from their respective constituencies.

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