Sreesanth says will battle Kerala polls 'aggressively'

Thiruvananthapuram: Former cricketer S. Sreesanth, who would contest the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls from Trivandrum, today said that he would fight the battle aggressively.

Sreesanth, who is contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, told ANI that he wasn't sure initially whether he would contest the elections for the saffron party.

"I'm 33 and I will not give up on cricket. But obviously duty comes first, after winning I would love to help the youth as well as the people of Trivandrum to get a better life," he said.

"People of Kerala supported me in the toughest phase of my life and it is a great opportunity to pay back to them and give a new life to state." he added.

Sreesanth further asserted that his main emphasis would be on improving education quality and attract youth towards politics.

"Hats off to Modi ji the way he is. I think the BJP government is doing a great job, whichever state they are ruling; they are doing good, so it's high time Kerala gets that privilege," he said.

"It's a change, everybody needs a change and it's been 60 years Kerala has been oscillating between two parties, it's high time somebody comes and makes some noise," he added.

When asked why he joined the BJP, the former cricketer said, "The party is doing really well across India and I would love to be with a party who is in real proving its metal unlike others who only speak."

"BJP is being doing a lot of things for every individual, giving jobs to a lot of unemployed people and I want to learn from them and the people have been really supporting me and I want to give it back to the society," he added.

Sreesanth was inducted in the party on Friday in presence of Union Health Minister JP Nadda and senior BJP leader Srikant Sharma besides others. Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan and BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan were also present on the occasion.

The BJP would be hoping to make inroads in a state, which has been predominantly ruled by traditional rivals Congress-led UDF or CPM-led LDF.

In Kerala, voting for 140 assembly seats would be held in a single phase on May 16.