Kochi: The new office-bearers of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), which represents the actors in Malayalam film industry – AMMA for 2024-27, will be elected at the upcoming annual general body meeting scheduled on June 30. The office-bearers in the previous administration, except president Mohanlal, will make way for new faces.
Idavela Babu, who has occupied the post for 25 years, will also step down from the post of general secretary. Apart from a new general secretary, two vice-presidents, a joint secretary and 11 members of the executive committee will also be elected. However, elections have been avoided for the post of treasurer, as the only candidate in the fray is Unni Mukundan. The meeting will take place at Gokulam Convention Centre in Kochi.
Vice-presidents
Three candidates – Jagadish, Jayan Cherthala and Manju Pillai – are in the fray for elections to two vice president posts. Shwetha Menon and Maniyanpilla Raju who contested along with Asha Sharath in the previous elections are the current vice-presidents.
General Secretary
While Idavela Babu was elected unanimously as the general secretary for several terms, there will be a close fight between three contestants – Siddique, Kukku Parameswaram and Unni Sivapal – to the post this time. Idavela Babu had expressed his desire to quit the post during the previous election held in 2021, but reversed the decision following an emotional appeal by senior actor Mammootty. However, idavela Babu announced before the latest elections that he will not continue as general secretary under any compulsion.
Treasurer
Siddique who is the present treasurer of AMMA will complete his term on June 30, and will give way to Unni Mukundan who has been selected as the new office bearer as he was the only one who submitted nominations to the post.
Joint Secretary
There are two contestants for the post of joint secretary, which is now occupied by Jayasurya. Baburaj and Anoop Chandran are candidates for the post.
Executive Committee
There are 11 posts of executive committee members, for which 12 candidates are in the fray. Except Tovino Thomas, none of the members of the outgoing committee which has completed its term is contesting this time. Apart from Tovino, the others in the fray include Ananya, Ansiba Hassan, Joy Mathew, Kalabhavan Shajon, Ramesh Pisharody, Rony David, Sarayu Mohan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Suresh Krishna, Tiny Tom and Vinu Mohan.
Women’s representation
Under AMMA’s bylaws, four among the 17 office-bearers should be women. With two women contesting for the post of vice-president, a final decision on the strength of women in the executive committee would be taken after that election.
