Prof R Bindu,53, was the first woman Mayor of Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. A first-time MLA, she will represent Irinjalakkuda, the constituency she won by a margin of 5,949 votes.
A resident of Kanattukara, Thrissur, Bindu entered politics through SFI, and was the convener of its state sub-committee for women students.
Prof Bindu had functioned as the student's representative in the Syndicate of Calicut University, and later as a member of the university Senate.
Active in literature, she had been a winner in short-story writing at the university level.
A rank holder in MA in English Literature, Bindu also holds MPhil and PhD degrees. She was elected as the first woman Mayor of Thrissur in 2005, and was a corporation councillor for 10 years.
She is currently a member of CPM Thrissur district committee; central executive committee member of All India Democratic Women's Association; and state working committee member of All Kerala Private College Teachers' Association (AKPCTA).
Dr Bindu headed the Department of English of Sree Kerala Varma College, and had also held the responsibilities of the college's principal.
LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan is her husband. Son: Adv V Harikrishnan.