E. P. Jayarajan – Communist leader from Kerala and three-term MLA

E. P. Jayarajan is a veteran politician from southern state of Kerala, affiliated to Communist Party of India (Marxist). He became a Member of Legislative Assembly for Mattannur constituency in 2011 and re-elected from the same constituency in 2016. He has also served as Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 1996. Soon after Pinarayi Vijayan came into power, Jayarajan became Kerala state Minister for Industries and Sports. During this short term as sports minister between 25 May 2016 and 14 October 2016, his comments on Boxing legend, Muhammad Ali caught media attention across the nation. He assumed office for the second time on 14 August 2018, serving the same portfolios.

E. P. Jayarajan hails from Irinave of Kannur district. He was born in 1950 into a Congress family. But his native place has prominence for Communist party. He started attending the party meetings and slowly got drawn towards the party. He also got inspired by great leaders like E.M.S, Nayanar, A.K.G, K.P.R. Gopalan etc. Soon after Communists came into power for the first time in Kerala (he was 18 then), he got influenced by the efforts taken by workers and leaders to construct Irinave dam, and he turned a communist.

He is well-known for his fiery speeches. His active career in politics began when he became the first president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) in 1980. He unsuccessfully contested from Azheekode in 1987, and won the same seat in 1991. He got elected to state assembly two more times, and became a minister for the first time in 2016.

E. P. Jayarajan – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. Communist leader P. K. Sreemathy is his sister-in-law. P. K. Sreemathy and Jayarajan’s wife Indira are siblings.

2. His wife Indira is interested in farming than politics (though her husband and sister are prominent Communist leaders of Kerala. She is also into cattle farming.

3. He was the first All India President of D.Y.F.I.

4. Three is one among the three prominent politicians from Kannur with the name Jayarajan.

5. He was shot near Ongole while returning by train from a party meeting at Vijayawada in 1995, and he has been carrying a bullet in his body for more than two decades, and has some health issues related to it.

6. He has formerly served as the General Manager of Deshabhimani Newspaper daily, the mouthpiece of Communist party of Kerala.

7. Following Deshabhimani Bribery case in 2006, he was removed from the post of the GM of the daily. It was alleged that the newspaper took 2 crores as bribery from controversial lottery promoter Santiago Martin. After a few months, he was re-installed.

8. In 2016 soon after he was appointed as Sports Minister of Kerala, one of his comments made him a trending politician across India. Following the death of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, when one Malayalam channel phoned him to say a few words about the legend, as a newly elected sports minister, he commented that Muhammad Ali was a prominent sportsperson from Kerala who brought many international gold medals and also made his state proud. This shocking condolence message went viral over social media.

9. His shocking condolence message for the death of boxing legend Muhammad Ali as the newly elected sports minister invited a lot of mimes and trolls, and he was even compared to Congress politician Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan for misspelling names. He was brutally trolled.

10. He was a foodie once, who used to say, it’s his physical appearance which attracts others. However he has reduced food quantity in the recent times.

11. He resigned in 2016 as state minister because of nepotism allegations, and was reinstated as minister of the same portfolios in 2018. He appointed some of his relatives in public sector companies, which invited wrath from many.

12. Former Indian athlete Anju Bobby George accused him of threatening and insulting her, for her support to opposition party. Controversies occurred soon after he became Minister of Sports in 2016, when he stated that all transfers and appointments made by previous government were illegal. The minister had blocked all recent transfer orders issued by the Sports Council.