Ma baby | Photo credit: Illustration: Sreejith R. Kumar
In a political panorama ruled by the great and the strategy, the election of Babies of Mariam Alexander as general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was as silent as resolved. After stirring in the shadows for several years, it emerged as the correct election for the role in the 24th Congress of the party held in Madurai. He is the second leader of Kerala, after EMS Namboodiripad, to assume the role.
Mr. Baby’s political career is marked by an unwavering commitment to the ideology of the left, which also worked as an ideal compass that guides his trip. His sympathy, his comrades say, has not been a carefully elaborate performance, but an inherent feature that facilitates better communication, also in all political lines.
Born in a Latin Christian family in Prakkulam in the Kollam district of Kerala, the political trip of Mr. Babies begged his training years as a member of the Student Federation of Kerala, the precursor of the Federation of Students of India (SFI). Sree Narayana College, Kollam, where he followed his higher studies, played an integral role in the configuration of the politician and the individual who is. His contemporaries remember him as a true blue Marxist, a bibliophile and a filmmate, and a partner with a deep appreciation for the arts and literature.
The 1970s presented a challenging landscape for the student movements of Tojo de Lef and his leadership evolved within this burning potato or student policy. There was an avid activism and judgments when it rose through the ranks, becoming the state president of the SFI in 1975. He was 20 years old at that time, and in a matter of months faced trial and persecution after the emergency declaration.
Go up through the party
Mr. Baby was elected national president of the SFI in 1979, and in 1987, he taught as national president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). At 32, he was nominated for Rajya Sabha and his term in the last place from 1986 to 1998. In 1989, he was chosen for the Central Committee of the IPC (M), the highest decision -making body of the party, and in 1992, entered the CPI (m). He was made a member of the Police Office in 2012.
In the 2006 Assembly surveys, Mr. Baby was chosen from the Kundara Constitution in Kollam and served as Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs in the Government of the Left Front directed by VS Achuthanandan. Duration of its ministerial possession, the introduction of the Mathamillatha Jevan chapter (life without religion) in the class VII Social Sciences Book caused a controversy. This described a boy named Jevan raised without religious affiliation, with the objective or secular values of the promotion. However, this inclusion lit significant protests from several religious groups as an attempt to promote atheism. The lesson was reviewed and Mr. Baby sought to pacify the protesters, maintaining that the lesson was not against religion or God.
Another controversy broke out after his comments on the assault on TJ Joseph for alleged blasphemy.
Mr. Baby was also significant contributed to Kerala’s cultural scene that sold its term. It was essential to establish the Kochi-Muziris Biennial, which has since become a great prestige event in the global art circuit. In addition, he facilitated the visit of numerous acclaimed artists and literary figures to Kerala, enriching the cultural landscape of the State.
A true pattern of the arts, enjoys a broad and unique circle of friends who cover Kerala’s artistic and literary fraternity, a distinction that few other politicians could claim.
In 2011, Mr. Baby assured a second mandate such as the MLA of Kundara, Althegh, the Democratic Front of the Left (LDF) lost the state elections to the United Democratic Front led by Congress (UDF).
Despite its initial hesitation, the party persuaded Mr. Baby to dispute the Kollam elections of Lok Sabha 2014. There, he faced NK of the revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), his former ministerial colleague who had changed loyalty to the UDF. Pinarayi Vijayan’s vitriica campaign against Mr. Pronachandran after his crossover finally failed, contributing to the victory of the RSP leader over Mr. Baby by a margin or 37,649 votes. The defeat deeply affected Mr. Baby, who immediately offered to resign as MLA. While the IPC State Committee (M) rejected its resignation, its subsequent absence of the Assembly for several days was notable.
Mr. Baby assumes the role of secretary general at a critical situation for the CPI (M) and the left wing, and their challenges are significant. He faces the mantle when the CPI (M) wobbles under substantial setbacks, after having lost ground in western tripla and Bengal. Unlike his predecessor Sitaram Yechury, Mr. Baby lacks a generalized national profile.
Unifying the current left, defining the role of his party within the India block and ensuring victory in the next elections of the Kerala Assembly: the newly elected general secretary is prepared for a task uphill.
Published – April 13, 2025 02:14 am ist
