Mayor Arya Rajendran skips candidate announcement event; V Joy explains why

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the results of the 2020 local body elections, the selection of 21-year-old Arya Rajendran as the Mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation came as a surprise. In the history of major Indian cities, no one else has become mayor at such a young age. During her five-year term, Arya faced many challenges. Even her personal life was often used as a weapon by her political opponents. Residents of the capital have mixed opinions about her performance as mayor.

For the CPM, it is not new for mayors of the capital city to later enter the state assembly. Former mayors V Sivankutty and VK Prasanth are now MLAs, with Sivankutty serving as Kerala’s Education Minister. According to sources within the party, Arya Rajendran is also likely to follow a similar path. She is expected to contest in the upcoming assembly elections- scheduled six months from now- from one of the constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram.

Meanwhile, her absence from the CPM's candidate announcement event for the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has sparked speculation and become a topic of discussion. With a fiercely contested three-cornered battle shaping up in the capital, Arya's no-show at the event was conspicuous. However, CPM's district secretary V Joy downplayed the significance of her absence, stating that Arya was not in Thiruvananthapuram at the time and is currently in Kozhikode.