They will get married on the 19th but already campaign posters refer to her as Manija Rajesh, in hope of cashing in on the support that Rajesh's father, an influential CPI leader, enjoyed in the area.
There are many reasons why people get married but Manija and KR Rajesh, residents of Kerala's Kollam district, will tie the knot because of the upcoming local body elections in the state.
Rajesh doesn't hesitate to admit that he was everyone's favourite to contest the polls from Kothathala ward in Neduvathoor panchayat, about 70 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram.
But to his surprise, he found the seat was reserved for women. So he decided to marry a woman who was ready to contest on the party's advice.
As it happened, the marriage proposal was brought to him by his own Communist Party of India (CPI) members. So, from barely a party loyalist, 26-year-old Manija turned party candidate.
"I am marrying her because I like her but also because she has agreed to stand for elections. If this ward was not reserved for women, I would have been representing the party among scheduled castes and scheduled tribes," says Rajesh.
Learning how to canvass votes as they go from door to door, Manija says, "When he came to meet me, he asked only one thing - if I am willing to contest elections; nothing else. I said yes."
Wednesday was a special day for the couple, not just because they got engaged, but also because she filed her nomination.
They will get married on the 19th but already campaign posters refer to her as Manija Rajesh, in hope of cashing in on the support that Rajesh's father, an influential CPI leader, enjoyed in the area.
"This is not family politics. We only want to pay our respect to Rajesh's father, who was very dear to us," said CPI leader BS Gopakumar.
The rival United Democratic Front (UDF) which for the first time won a majority in this Panchayat elections last time, says the hurried marriage is a sign of desperation.
"CPI is in such a sorry state that it could not even find a candidate and they had to get their man married hurriedly to someone who was not even a regular member," Panchayat Vice President Gopakumar M said.