PALAKKAD: MB Rajesh, who was elected speaker of the 15th Kerala Assembly on Tuesday, contested from Thrithala against Congress’ VT Balram and wrested the seat by 3,173 votes. This was his maiden contest to the assembly. He is the son of Mambatta Balakrishnan Nair who had retired as a havildar in the Army and Karalmanna Mangalassery M K Ramani. Rajesh was born in Jalandhar in Punjab as his father was posted there at that time.
He had his early education at the Kayiliyaad KV UP School and Chalavara Higher Secondary School. He did his graduation and postgraduation in Economics from NSS College, Ottappalam. He later secured a law degree from the Law Academy in Thiruvananthapuram. He had served as the SFI district secretary and state secretary, DYFI district and state president and also the national president.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Palakkad Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 and 2014. Though the NDA had been in power since 2014 and then Human Resources Minister Smriti Irani had earmarked a provision in the Union budget for the IIT in Palakkad, Rajesh had followed it up regularly as an MP and succeeded in persuading the Central government to announce it. He was also the recipient of many awards like the Cherian J Kappen award instituted by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute, and the awards of India Press Club of North America, Global Pravasi Malayalee Confederation, Kottayam Lions Club and Palakkad and Shoranur Rotary clubs.
In 2011, ‘The Week’ selected Rajesh as one of the best five young MPs of India and in 2014 ‘Manorama News’ had selected him as one of the five best MPs from Kerala. In 2017, ‘Deccan Chronicle’ described him as the Youth Icon of the Year .His wife Dr Ninitha Kanichery is an assistant professor in the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady. He has two daughters — Niranjana, plus one student of PMG Higher Secondary School, and Priya Datta, fourth standard student of the Government Lower Primary School, Manapullikavu.