Arya Rajendran is the youngest mayor of Thiruvananthapuram
Bengaluru: While many 21-year-olds finish their graduation at that age and be ready to pursue higher education, Arya Rajendran is entirely different.
She was sworn in as the mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation after securing 54 votes in the 100-member city country. Incidentally, she is now the youngest-ever mayor in India.
Interestingly, she is still pursuing her graduation course — BSc (Mathematics) from the All Saints College in the Kerala’s capital, notes India Today.
It is also interesting to note that the municipal ward Mudavanmugal she represents, had hit the headlines for being home to actor Mohanlal, who is a famous actor. No wonder, he called up Arya Rajendran to congratulate on her election as mayor.
More on Arya Rajendran’s political affiliations:
A CPI-M party member, she began her political journey as a child activist in Balasangam. It is to be noted that the children’s organisation is affiliated to the CPI-M. She was in the Class-V then. Both her parents have been CPI-M members for decades. Local reports say her father is an electrician while her mother is an LIC agent, the website noted.
She became the state president of the Balasangam later. In college, Arya Rajendran became a member of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students’ wing of the CPI-M.
Arya Rajendra succeeds VK Prasanth, who was the youngest mayor of Thiruvananthapuram when appointed in 2015. He was 34 at the time. The choice of two successive young mayors for the Kerala capital city shows the CPI-M’s outreach to the youth in the wake of its perceived declining support base among the young citizens.
With her appointment as Thiruvananthapuram mayor, Arya Rajendran also broke the record held by Sabitha Beegam who became the youngest Indian mayor — also first among Muslims — when she took over the Kollam municipal corporation in Kerala in 2000. Sabitha Beegam was 29 at that time.
In the mayoral election, Arya Rajendra defeated the BJP’s Simi Jyothish, who secured 35 — all BJP plus one Independent — votes. Among the priorities that Arya Rajendran has listed are setting up more primary health centres and waste management in Thiruvananthapuram.
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