MADURAI: M A Baby is the second Malayali to become the general secretary of CPM after EMS Namboodiripad left office in 1992. Although an agreement was reached at the Polituburo meeting held last night, the official statement will be released at the party congress today.

Members from Bengal, Suryakanta Mishra, Niloltpal Basu, Mohammed Salim, Ramachandra Dome, and Ashok Dhawale from Maharashtra opposed Baby's ascension as general secretary. Baby has been working under the central leadership of the CPM since 2016. Baby, who became a member of the central committee in 1989, joined the PB in 2012.

Baby's fixation with politics started from his school days. He joined the Kerala Student Federation as a student at Prakkulam NSS High School. The long time devoted to the organization opened doors for his entry into SFI and DYFI. MA Baby's leadership skills and sublime oratory skills helped him climb the ladder of recognition in a short time.

MA Baby is a leader who has made his mark in the parliamentary and administrative arenas. He represented Kerala as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998 and was also active in national politics. He then served as the Education Minister of Kerala in the cabinet of senior leader VS Achuthanandan from 2006 to 2011.

Baby then contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Kollam but was relegated to second place by CPM turncoat Premachandran. Baby, who joined the party's central committee much earlier, joined the PB at the party congress held in Kozhikode in 2012. Baby would have made it into the PB earlier if not for VS Achuthanandan’s late suggestion of Kodiyeri’s name.