Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 28 (IANS): Congressman and Lok Sabha member Kodikunnil Suresh is the son of a farm worker who cut grass for a living in their native village in Kerala.

Having lost his father very early in life, Suresh was brought up by his mother Thankamma, who cut grass for a living.

His village at Vattpara near here has been in celebration mode. His 90-year-old mother expressed great happiness at her son's elevation.

"He called me and told me the news. He has said he will come here in two days' time. We are all happy with these developments," Thankamma said, sitting in front of her tiny home, where a large crowd had gathered.

Suresh, whose home is in the outskirts of the capital city, began his political career when he was a student of Class 8 in the mid-seventies, through the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress party.

When the Congress party in the state split vertically with K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony heading the two factions, Suresh joined the latter faction.

In the early eighties when he was a student of the pre-degree course, and later, when he studied law here, he was often seen at the Legislators' Hostel. His nickname then was 'City Moni' (his original name is J. Suresh) because he headed the city unit of the KSU here.

His name officially became Kodikunnil Suresh before he was asked to contest the reserved Lok Sabha constituency in Adoor as the Congress candidate in 1989. That was his first taste of contesting elections.

Since then, he has contested five more times from the same constituency, winning thrice.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, with the Adoor constituency scrapped due to delimitation, he contested the reserved constituency at nearby Mavelikera and won.

"We are all happy that Suresh has worked his way up the ladder. We hope more laurels will come his way," said a Lok Sabha member, whose statements Suresh often carried to media houses in the eighties.