A former software engineer at HSBC turned local body politician, a doctor-turned-civil servant who left his executive role for full-time politics, and a Delhi University post-graduate with a strong foothold in local politics since his college days — Kerala's bypoll scene is being spiced up by candidates with enterprising career trajectories.
Navya Haridas, a 39-year-old BJP candidate in the high profile Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, holds an Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication from KMCT, Kozhikode. She started her career as a software engineer at HSBC and then moved abroad with her husband Shobin Shyam, a marine engineer. She had been a globe-trotter of sorts, living in Singapore, Poland, and Azerbaijan.
Reflecting on her unexpected entry into politics, she said, “A vacation trip back home in 2015 was the twist. My husband had to go to Brazil for his project, and we came for a one-year vacation home before that.”
During her visit to Kerala, she was asked by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest in the Karapparamb local body elections, which she surprisingly won, launching her fresh career as a councillor in Kozhikode Corporation. Over a period of time, Navya’s political journey spiralled, and she retained her position in the 2020 civic body elections. Despite losing in the 2021 assembly elections to Indian National League (INL)’s Ahammed Devarkovil, she increased the BJP’s vote share by 4.33 per cent in Kozhikode South with 24,873 votes.
Now, as she contests in Wayanad, she faces tough competition from United Democratic Front's (UDF) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Communist Party of India's (CPI) seasoned leader Sathyan Mokeri. A mother of two, Satvik and Ishana, Navya’s political values were shaped by her Kozhikode-based family’s strong ties to the RSS and Sangh Parivar.
Dr P Sarin, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) candidate for the Palakkad assembly constituency, vacated after Shafi Parambil’s election to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara, brings a medical and bureaucratic background to the poll fray. A native of Ottappalam, Sarin graduated from Kozhikode Medical College in 2007 and soon cleared the civil service exam in his 2008 maiden attempt, securing the 555th rank to join the Indian Accounts and Audit Service (IAAS). He initially worked in Thiruvananthapuram before being transferred to Karnataka as Deputy Accountant General.
In 2016, after eight years in government service, Sarin left the bureaucracy to pursue active politics. Despite his parents' reservations, his wife, Dr Soumya Sarin, a paediatric specialist, author and social activist, provided unwavering support. He quickly rose through the grand old party ranks, starting from Youth Congress, heading Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee's (KPCC) social media wing and playing a prominent role in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Recently, his academic pursuits continued as he enrolled in an LLB programme at Ernakulam Law College, bagging the tenth rank in the entrance exam. In the 2021 assembly elections, he lost to CPM’s K Premkumar in Ottappalam by 15,152 votes but managed to increase Congress’s vote share in the region by 3.05 per cent. However, the 40-year-old lashed out at the party and made his exit after it picked Rahul Mamkoottathil as its candidate for the Palakkad assembly bypoll.
Sarin’s support system includes his wife Soumya and their daughter Swatika, who have been pillars of strength throughout his career shifts. In Palakkad, BJP’s sate general secretary G Krishnakumar is his another major rival.
Pathanamthitta native Rahul B R, popularly known as Rahul Mamkoottathil, is the Congress's 'untold Shafi-successor' in Kerala politics. Despite his close connections with South Kerala politics, the KPCC is running its luck to see if he can retain the seat, stepping into the shoes of Shafi Parambil and his established popularity in North Kerala.
Rahul entered politics in 2006 with the Kerala Students Union (KSU) at Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta. He later graduated with a Master's in History from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, where he studied with Congress leader Chandy Oommen. He earned a second MA in History from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Delhi, and has always expressed aspirations to complete a PhD, though his political duties have taken priority. Rising through the ranks, Rahul became a state committee member of KSU, later serving as its state general secretary in 2013. He also became Youth Congress state president in 2023, succeeding Shafi.
Alongside his political career, Rahul has business ventures, including a men’s beauty parlour and partnerships in a medical shop and a kids’ wear store. His affidavit lists 29 criminal cases, of which he has been acquitted in 19; Dr Sarin, by comparison, has six criminal charges against him.
