MMM Secretary-General: 'There Is No Post-Bérenger Party — Just the MMM'

In a wide-ranging interview with the Mauritius Times, Rajesh Bhagwan, Secretary-General of the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), pushed back firmly against narratives that frame the party's identity around its long-standing leader Paul Bérenger. "There is no MMM 'post-Bérenger' or 'with Bérenger' — there is simply the MMM," Bhagwan declared, signalling that the party intends to be defined by its politics and principles rather than by any single figure. **Who is the MMM?** The MMM is one of Mauritius's oldest and most historically significant political parties. Founded in the early 1970s, it built its reputation on a platform of workers' rights, social justice, and cross-communal politics at a time when Mauritian political life was heavily shaped by ethnic and religious affiliations. Paul Bérenger, a French-Mauritian politician, has been the party's dominant figure for decades and remains one of the most recognisable names in Mauritian public life. Bhagwan pointed to an important historical footnote to support his argument: before 1986, the MMM operated without a formal leader at all. He cited labour activist and MMM figure Jack Bizlall to reinforce the point that the party's founding DNA was always collective rather than personality-driven. **Alliance politics and influence** Bhagwan also addressed questions about the MMM's weight within electoral alliances — a perennial concern for smaller or mid-sized parties that must negotiate coalitions in Mauritius's first-past-the-post system under the Best Loser mechanism. His position was unambiguous: "The influence of an MMM party within an alliance is measured by the strength of its ideas and its capacity for action, not by its numerical weight." This is a pointed statement in the context of Mauritian coalition politics, where seat counts and constituency deals often determine a party's leverage at the negotiating table. Bhagwan is essentially arguing that the MMM should be valued as an ideological force — not simply as a vote bank. **What this means** The interview reflects internal and external pressures facing the MMM as Mauritius heads toward the next political cycle. With Bérenger well into his seventies, questions about succession and the party's long-term direction are unavoidable. Bhagwan's messaging appears designed to reassure members and voters that the party has institutional depth beyond any one personality. For political observers, it also signals that the MMM is positioning itself as a principled partner in any future alliance — one that will demand ideological compatibility, not just numerical arithmetic. Whether that argument resonates with voters and potential coalition partners remains to be seen. But the MMM's Secretary-General is clearly trying to shift the conversation from personality to programme — a significant strategic choice for a party with a storied but complicated history. Source: Mauritius Times