KOCHI: V P Sajeendran may be an MLA from Kunnathunad, but his heart lies in Kottayam, his home-town - the place where he took his first baby-steps in politics. He however rues about not finding enough time to visit it often.“I’ve been a Kochiite for 10 years now. I do try to stay connected with my roots by taking part in every major function held in Kottayan, but I do end up missing some of them due to paucity of time,” he says.One of the things Sajeendran believes separates him from others of his rank is that he’s not overly obsessed about his status as an MLA. “I still think of myself as a contestant, which helps me view things from the ordinary citizen’s point of view and about the developmental works that need to be initiated here,” he says. A first-time MLA, Sajeendran sees his job as a continuity of the public service he did earlier. “The only change is that I am now obliged to be a part of several government functions,” he smiles faintly.As for his early beginnings, it helped enormously that he grew up in a political vibrant household. “My mother was a strong Congress sympathiser. All my brothers were Kerala Students Union (KSU) activists. During election time, our house would practically turn into a party office, with activists and other workers frequenting us. Even as a school kid, I would help my brothers stick posters...,” he says.Sajeendran was politically quite active as a student, which set the stage later on for a full-fledged career in public life. He was unit secretary of the KSU at the Kozhikode Law College and became even more involved with its activities at Thiruvananthapuram Law College where he went later. He also looks back with satisfaction on his stint as the University Union Councillor of the Kerala University, where the Students Federation of India had a strong footing. Ask him about one lasting memory from college, and he recalls Academy winner Rasul Pookutty who was his hostel neighbour. “He stayed four rooms away from mine. He used to perform a lot of mimicry,” Sajeendran recollects. Even though he clearly showed a bent towards politics, it was KSU leader J Joseph who was finally instrumental in bringing him into the mainstream. “I was practising as a lawyer, when Joseph suggested that I could have a better future if I got into politics.”Sajeendran promptly took the suggestion, and from there on charted a political career for himself. The MLA’s role model is Defence Minister A K Antony, for whom he has a special place in his heart. His own plans for his constituency include taking up developmental projects related to infrastructure of roads and bridges.
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