Arya Rajendran, a 21-year-old BSc student is all set to create history, as she will soon swear-in as the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. Once she assumes the corporation office in Thiruvananthapuram, she will become India's youngest mayor.
The Kerala model strikes again
Kerala is one among those few states in India where political parties show no hesitation to bring up young leaders to the forefront. And now, the state has once again proved how young political leaders should be treated by the respective parties.
The decision to appoint Arya as the Thiruvananthapuram Mayor was taken by a panel of the CPI (M) district secretariat. It should be noted that Arya was the youngest candidate CPI(M) had fielded during the recently concluded local self-government elections, and she won from Mudavanmugal ward, defeating UDF candidate Sreekala by 2872 votes.
Jameela's loss, Arya's gain
During the election campaign, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had projected Jameela Sreedharan as their Mayor candidate. However, the party decided to select the youngest candidate as it would send out a positive message among the general public.
Arya is currently pursuing her graduation at LBS College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. The 21-year-old has been very active in Kerala politics in the past few years and is currently a state committee member of the Students Federation of India (SFI). She is also the president of Balasangham, which is CPI(M)'s children wing.
On Friday, Arya told reporters that she will gladly take up the role entrusted to her by the party. Arya also clarified that she will balance both her political career and education. She added that her ultimate focus will be addressing issues faced by women and to ensure other developmental activities in Thiruvananthapuram. Arya is the daughter of Rajendran, an electrician. Her mother, Sreelatha is a LIC agent.
