India’s Youngest Mayor Arya Rajendran You Can’t Mess With

Arya Rajendran, all of 22, adorns the mayor seat of Kerala’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram with the distinction of being the youngest elected mayor in the country. This BSc maths second year student, stood and won from the Mudavanmugal ward under the CPI-M banner. Arya is no greenhorn test case politician, fielded by her party. Daughter of an electrician father, a CPI-M activist and working mother (LIC agent), privilege and power did not boost her rise, having been inducted into the Balasangam (the children’s wing of CPI-M) when she was in Class 5.  Politics being what it is, the accolades she got from all over the country when elected mayor, must have rankled the major opposition incumbents, the BJP and the Congress among others. Recently, BJP Councillor Karamana Ajith took her on for lack of supervision and accountability in her duties. The ward’s garbage disposal and inventory and high-cost equipment obviously got flak.  “The AKG Centre’s LKG student probably thinks of this as a play school. Taking on a Mayor’s duties is not child’s play.” Ouch, that must have hurt.  But Arya is no wilting wallflower. Her repartee, “No one needs to judge my capability and efficiency by my age. I am confident of holding my own.” Don’t mess with this Miss.