Kerala Assembly polls 2026| Fate of A.K. Saseendran hangs in balance over fourth successive bid for Elathur constituency in Kozhikode

The fate of Minister for Forest and Wildlife A.K. Saseendran and his bid to contest the Elathur seat in Kozhikode in the Kerala Assembly polls for the fourth consecutive term now rests with the central leadership of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) [NCP(SP)], which is expected to reach a decision shortly.

​With the party’s Kozhikode district committee and the majority of its local mandalam committees opposing his nomination, and the State leadership seemingly divided over the veteran leader’s ambitions, the final decision has been referred to the party’s national executive, an NCP(SP) State committee member told The Hindu.

As in the 2021 polls when he faced a similar situation, Mr. Saseendran manoeuvred to retain his candidature by securing the support of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and, eventually, the then NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Party sources said the State unit had prepared a panel of three names for consideration by the central leadership for the Elathur seat: Mr. Saseendran, NCP(SP) Kozhikode district president Mukkom Mohammed and party State working president P. M. Suresh Babu.

Discussions inconclusive

The decision to refer the matter to the central leadership was taken after a meeting of the NCP(SP) State election committee held earlier this week failed to reach a consensus on the candidate for Elathur. When the name of Mr. Mohammed was raised and some members suggested that Mr. Saseendran should step aside this time to give others an opportunity, the veteran leader and his supporters reportedly walked out of the meeting, leaving the discussions inconclusive.

“The party State president Thomas K. Thomas will hold detailed discussions with the central leadership on the three names. The candidate for Elathur will be announced accordingly,” he said.

Mr. Saseendran, a two-time Minister, has contested eight Assembly elections and won six times, including three victories from Elathur, a traditional Left bastion. He first contested and won from the constituency in 2011.

Meanwhile, a top functionary of the party dismissed reports that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] was considering taking over the Elathur seat due to infighting in the NCP(SP) and termed it “mere rumours.”

In the 2021 Assembly elections, besides Elathur, the party had contested the Kuttanad and Kottakkal seats. While the NCP(SP) has all but finalised the candidature of incumbent MLA Mr. Thomas from Kuttanad, it is likely to swap the Kottakkal seat for the Malappuram constituency.