CPM’s Reshma Mariam Roy to be Kerala’s youngest panchayat president
Reshma, who contested from ward 11 (Oottupara), had secured a win for the CPM in a ward won by the Congress during the previous three elections.
Reshma, who contested from ward 11 (Oottupara), had secured a win for the CPM in a ward won by the Congress during the previous three elections.
Reshma, who contested from ward 11 (Oottupara), had secured a win for the CPM in a ward won by the Congress during the previous three elections.
CPM’s Reshma Mariam Roy, who was the youngest candidate in the recent local body elections in Kerala, will be the president of Aruvappulam panchayat in Pathanamathitta district. When Reshma takes oath, she would also be the youngest panchayat president in the state.
Reshma, who contested from ward 11 (Oottupara), had secured a win for the CPM in a ward won by the Congress during the previous three elections. The president’s post is reserved for women this time.
A dramatic entry
Incidentally, Reshma’s entry to the electoral field was surrounded by suspense. She completed 21 years – the minimum age to contest - only on November 18, the day before the last date to file nominations. In other words, Reshma would not have been eligible to submit her nomination papers if the elections had been announced two days earlier.
In the elections, Reshma won with a majority of 70 votes. She secured 450 votes, defeating Sujatha Mohan of the Congress. She, in fact, regained a seat which the CPM had lost years ago. Oottupara later became a UDF bastion.
Reshma belongs to a family of traditional Congress supporters. However, she shifted loyalties to the Left during her student days. She is now a member of the SFI’s district secretariat and DYFI’s district committee.
The youngster made her entry into the electoral arena immediately after earning a BBA degree from VNS College, Konni in Pathanamthitta. Her father Roy P Mathew is a timber trader and mother Mini Roy works at a college.