The Nationalist Congress Party has announced that A. K. Saseendran will contest from Elathur in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. The party’s national leadership confirmed the decision despite internal opposition from some leaders. Saseendran is currently acted as minister for forests and wildlife protection in the Kerala government and had previously won the Elathur seat.
Along with Saseendran, the party has also announced other candidates. Thomas K. Thomas and K. T. Mujeeb will contest from Kuttanad as NCP candidates. Earlier, senior leader P. C. Chacko had expressed concern over fielding Saseendran again. He had said that Saseendran has already contested elections seven times, served four terms as an MLA, and worked as a minister for about nine years.
Some leaders in the party were worried that denying the seat to Saseendran could create divisions within the party. Meanwhile, Thomas K. Thomas had met Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, regarding the seat dispute in Elathur. However, the Chief Minister reportedly said that he would not interfere in the party’s decision on selecting its candidate.
