21-yr-old Arya becomes India's youngest Mayor from Thiruvananthapuram

Rozana Spokesman

News, Nation

Twenty-one-year-old Arya Rajendran on Monday became the youngest Mayor in the country, taking charge of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation

Arya Rajendran

Twenty-one-year-old Arya Rajendran on Monday became the youngest Mayor in the country, taking charge of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation after she scored a facile win in a three-cornered election to the post.

A college student and a CPI-M member, she was administered the oath of office by collector Navjot Khosa at the corporation council hall.

With BJP-NDA and Congress-led UDF deciding to field candidates for the Mayor's post, an election was necessitated on Monday and the CPI-M candidate garnered 54 votes, including that of independents, in the 100-member corporation.

Actor-politician Kamal Hassan and industrialist and Chairman of the Adani Group Gautam Adani were among those who congratulated Rajendran on her feat.

"Congratulations to Thiruvananthapuram's and India's youngest Mayor, Arya Rajendran. Absolutely stunning and India's demographic dividend at its best. This is how young political leaders shape paths and inspire others to follow. This is Incredible India!," Adani tweeted.

In the recent civic elections, Rajendran, a second year Bsc Maths student of the All Saints College here, won from Mudavanmugal ward in the city, defeating her nearest Congress rival by a margin of 549 votes. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front bagged 51 seats, BJP 34, UDF ten seats and others five in the election.