Thomas will be minister from NCP: Chacko

Thiruvananthapuram: Thomas K Thomas will replace AK Saseendran as the NCP minister in the LDF govt, confirmed party state president PC Chacko on Saturday. To communicate NCP's decision to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Chacko, Saseendran and Thomas will meet him on Oct 3.Though the NCP state brass had decided to meet Vijayan earlier this week, it did not happen due to CM's earlier engagements. So the state brass decided to meet him when he returns from New Delhi after the politburo meeting.While announcing the party's decision, Chacko said NCP national president Sharad Pawar decided to replace Saseendran with Thomas in the state govt.Kuttanad MLA Thomas had been lobbying for a cabinet berth ever since LDF govt completed two-and-a-half years in power. But Saseendran was resisting this move. However, it gained momentum when Chacko, after initial reluctance, extended his support to Thomas.Saseendran was not willing to relinquish his cabinet position and hence he was strongly protesting against the move by Thomas and Chacko. It had resulted in conflicts within the party. Chacko even took disciplinary action against functionaries close to Saseendran for speaking against the party state president. Hence it has to be seen whether Saseendran will accept the decision of NCP national president.Sources said that Saseendran is expecting support from the chief minister and CPM, and so a decision on replacing him will be delayed. The chief minister's decision on the NCP move will be crucial.