Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has decided to retain AK Saseendran as a minister in the LDF cabinet. The Kerala unit of the party has communicated this decision to CPM national coordinator Prakash Karat. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also stated that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will not be given another ministerial berth if Saseendran is removed from the cabinet.

The rift within the NCP over the ministerial post had intensified as Thomas K Thomas remained adamant about his induction into the Pinarayi cabinet as a minister. Pinarayi Vijayan’s apparent reluctance to appoint Thomas prompted the NCP to seek intervention from the CPM’s national leadership.

Sharad Pawar, the national president of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), who is already grappling with setbacks from the Maharashtra assembly elections, is reportedly troubled by the ongoing internal strife within the Kerala unit. In a bid to resolve the crisis, Pawar is said to have approached Prakash Karat to exert pressure on the Chief Minister to accommodate Thomas in the cabinet.

The dissatisfaction within the NCP’s Kerala unit has been conveyed to Karat by state president PC Chacko, who expressed concerns about the CPM’s deviation from the usual practice of allowing alliance partners to decide their ministers. The NCP’s latest strategy seeks to leverage Karat’s influence to secure a ministerial position for Thomas.