Kochi/New Delhi, March 19 Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan said on Thursday that all issues regarding the selection of party candidates for the upcoming elections in the state have been resolved.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters in New Delhi early in the morning, said that the full list of names for the remaining 40 seats, in which the party is contesting, would be announced later that day.
The Congress had released a list of 55 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections on Tuesday.
The Congress reportedly faced pressure from Kannur MP K Sudhakaran and Attingal MP Adoor Prakash, who had expressed their interest in contesting from Kannur and Konni assembly constituencies, respectively.
He said that there would be no "internal conflict" within the party, but that some members would be disappointed at not getting a chance to contest in the April 9 assembly elections.
"Sometimes, there are more than one eligible member for a particular seat, but only one can be selected. This was also difficult for us. We will support and protect those who are disappointed," the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly said.
Hours later, after arriving in Kerala, Satheesan told the media in Kochi that he had returned because the candidate selection process was complete.
"All issues have been resolved. The final list of candidates will be announced later," he said.
However, Satheesan did not answer reporters' queries regarding whether Kannur MP and party strongman K Sudhakaran had been given a party ticket or not.
He responded that he was not the one to answer that question, and that everything would be clear once the final list of candidates was announced.
He also claimed that reports of Sudhakaran's dissatisfaction with the party were a "media creation".
Satheesan also rejected reports of a delay in the selection of candidates by the Congress, saying that it took longer because the chairman of the screening committee was unwell.
"Despite that, the candidates have been selected in record time. The CPI(M) has not announced its full list of candidates," he added.