THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: M B Rajesh having ten years of experience as a Member of Parliament, has taken over the reins of the Kerala Assembly. Although we expected that Rajesh, named best parliamentarian, would be given some key portfolios in the second Pinarayi Government, the lot fell on the speaker’s post.

Rajesh is the 23rd Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. This is for the first time a person elected to the assembly for the first time is made Speaker. Although entering the assembly for the first time, his strength would be his excellent track record in parliamentary politics, when becomes the speaker.

Rajesh, who barely made it to the Lok Sabha in the first battle, defeated M P Veerendra Kumar, a giant in Kerala politics, by over one lakh votes in 2014. However, in the UDF wave that swept across the state in 2019, he lost to V K Sreekandan. Since 2009 he had served in Parliamentary Committees on Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology, Petroleum, Energy and Agriculture.

This time the party gave him the task to capture Thrithala. Rajesh, former all-India president of the DYFI, captured Thrithala by a majority of over 3,000 votes. He defeated V T Balram, one of the leading young Turks of the congress.

Rajesh was born in Jalandhar, Punjab, to Balakrishnan Nair, a havildar in the Indian Army and M K Remani. His school education was at Kayiliyad K V UP School and Chalavara Higher Secondary School. He is a graduate in Law from the University of Kerala and a postgraduate in economics from the NSS College, Ottapalam affiliated to the University of Calicut. Rajesh, who joined the organization through SFI and DYFI, is a member of the state committee of the CPM.

His excellence in organizational work and the energy he gained from the struggle led him to the leadership. He had served as SFI state secretary, DYFI State President and All India President. All eyes were on Thrithala in the election which excluded A K Balan, N N Krishnadas and P K Sasi from the fray. The party had lost Thrithala twice.

There are some interesting similarities when the mantle is handed over to M B Rajesh from Sreeramakrishnan. Rajesh is closely associated with Sreeramakrishnan since his student days. Rajesh from NSS College, Ottapalam, succeeds Sreeramakrishnan.

P Sreeramakrishnan was SFI leader and a graduate student of NSS College, Ottapalam when Rajesh joined there for pre degree. Rajesh was district committee member when Sriramakrishnan was the district president of SFI. Rajesh was later district secretary when Sreeramakrishnan was the state secretary of DYFI. Since then, the two have served together as president and secretary. When Sreeramakrishnan vacated the post of All India President, Rajesh took over the post. History is repeating now when he succeeds Sreeramakrishnan.

Rajesh is married to Ninitha Kanicheri, assistant professor of Sanskrit University in Kalady. His two daughters are Niranjana and Priyadatha, plus two and fourth class students.