Arya Rajendran, a 21-year-old college student, became the mayor of Thiruvananthapuram after winning the elections from the Mudavanmugal ward of Kerala. With this, Arya became India’s youngest mayor at 21.

A second-year B.Sc Maths student at the All Saint’s college in the city, Arya is the daughter of Rajendran, who is an electrician, and Sreelatha who is a Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent.

She contested on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) ticket as she defeated the United Democratic Front (Kerala) candidate, Sreekala, by 2,872 votes.

Arya mentioned that her focal point would be addressing women’s issues and other developmental activities, as reported by The New Indian Express. Her interest in the CPM ideologies started right from her childhood days since her father was a stalwart CPM worker.

‘Democracy is not about one person leading alone, it’s about deciding collectively and getting decisions implemented. The party has ushered in a new era with this decision and by fielding so many young candidates, including young women candidates,’ NDTV quoted Arya.

‘Growing with the party, we have been repeatedly exposed to challenges and crisis management. One of the leading examples is our own Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the way he communicated with people and leaders during various disasters,’ she added.

Arya is currently the state president of CPM-backed ‘Balasanghom’, which is considered the world’s largest children’s organisation. She is also a member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) Kerala state committee.

A few other people including Jameela Sreedharan who won from Peroorkada and Gayathri Babu who won from Vanchiyoor were doing the initial rounds for Mayorship.

In the year 2015, CPM surprised the state by electing young councillor VK Prasanth as the mayor, which really benefitted the state.

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