Hyderabad, Sept. 26 -- Former Keralam chief secretary Jiji Thomson said on Saturday, September 26, that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had suggested he contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Pathanamthitta on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket.

Speaking to The Hindu, Thomson said the conversation took place on a Delhi flight in 2015-16. "It was not an offer but a friendly suggestion. I was serving as the Chief Secretary of Keralam and was nearing the end of my career when, on a flight to Delhi, Kumar asked about my retirement plans. I said I had no such plans whatsoever. It was at this point that he suggested I could contest from the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency for the BJP."

He added that Kumar called hi...