For the mainstream media and the popular imagination, he is someone who always courts controversy, but M.M. Mani, who is to be sworn in as a member of the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet on Tuesday, is someone who radiates irrepressible energy and whose body almost emits the fragrance of soil as it welcomes the first rain.
Son of migrant parents, Mr. Mani’s biographical details are at best sketchy. He has always remained within the firm confines of the party and, in that sense, is someone who was moulded into what he is today by the Communist movement, particularly the CPI(M).
He gave up his studies when he was in class four and took up the spade and, shortly thereafter, the red flag. He has remained a true soldier of the revolution, calling a spade a spade and building the CPI(M) in Idukki district.
Mr. Mani became the Idukki district secretary of the CPI(M) in 1985 and was re-elected to the post eight times more. He was a strong and vocal supporter of former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan for long, but parted ways with the veteran roughly a decade ago.
He came under intense media gaze following his speech at Manacaud near Thodupuzha in Idukki on May 26, 2012, where he, according to a grainy video telecast by TV channels, ‘listed’ the number of retaliatory killings that the CPI(M) had carried out in the district. He was arrested on November 21 that year and was released only on January 3, 2013.
Even earlier, he had made headlines by opposing the ‘Munnar Operation’ launched by the 2006-11 V.S. Achuthanandan government. Recently, he had stirred a hornet’s nest within the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) by accusing CPI Ministers of gross ineptness.
Although his observations appeared initially to rock the coalition boat, the leadership of the two parties soon stepped in to douse the flames. His elevation to the Cabinet is basically on account of the trust Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has in him.
By choosing Mr. Mani, Mr. Vijayan has also sent out a clear message that he valued probity as key criteria for selection of his teammates.
