New Delhi: A five-time Lok Sabha member, 50-year-old Kodikunnil Suresh is a prominent Dalit face of the Congress in Kerala and has been a staunch loyalist of senior leader and Defence Minister AK Antony right from his campus days. Elected from Mavelikkara (SC) seat in 2009, Suresh suffered a temporary setback when his election was declared void by Kerala High Court in 2010, on the ground that his high school records showed him a convert to Christianity and due to that not qualified to contest from a constituency reserved for
Scheduled Caste candidates.
A year later, the Supreme Court quashed the high court order accepting his contention that he had reconverted to Hinduism and had been elected to the Lok Sabha four times from an SC seat. Born in a family of modest means in Kodikkunnil village in Thiruvananthapuram district, Suresh began his career as an activist of the Congress's student wing KSU when in high school.
He later became state general secretary of the campus outfit and held senior positions in the Youth Congress. He had his successful electoral debut from Adoor Parliament seat in 1989 and retained the seat in 1991, 1996 and 1999. He was however defeated in 1998 and 2004.
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