The cut and thrust of electoral politics might be a world away from the catch and throw of amateur wrestling.
However, T.N. Suresh, the 47-year-old National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the Kovalam Assembly constituency, exudes confidence of one who appears to have straddled the divide between the vastly dissimilar worlds of politics and competitive sports with relative ease.
In the late 1990s, Mr. Suresh had ruled the “wrestling mat” in Kerala. For three successive years, he was adjudged the “best freestyle wrestler in the 62 kg category in the State.” His sporting talent gained him a job at the Secretariat.
Mr. Suresh had taken to wrestling at the age of 12. “I lived near the famed Veera Kerala Gymkhana at Vanchiyoor.
The best sporting talents in the capital used to frequent the gym. Veteran actor Mohanlal used to train there in his youth. The exercise regime included wrestling and weight training,” he says.
Mr. Suresh reckons Rishikeshan Nair, a police officer, and Narayanan Nair as his early gurus.
“They gave me the physical and dietary discipline that I continue to this day. The techniques of the sport has changed and evolved. But the spirit remains the same,” he says.
Some similarities
Mr. Suresh feels that wrestling on the mat and grappling with opponents in the electoral arena do have certain similarities. “Deft moves and executing pinning combinations ensure wins in both areas,” he says.
Mr. Suresh faces powerful opponents in the politically unpredictable Kovalam constituency where caste and communal undercurrents have influenced the electoral fortunes of candidates in the past. His main adversaries are the incumbent MLA Jameela Prakasham and M. Vincent of the Congress, both political heavyweights on their own right.
It is difficult to predict whether the former wrestler’s first foray into the electoral melee will yield him the joy of victory, a “win by pin” as he puts it in true wrestling style.
