Kerala Local Body Elections: Unconventional Candidates Put Their Skills to the Test

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Kerala is gearing up for its local body elections, with a record 75,632 candidates vying for positions in rural and urban areas. The voting process will take place in two phases on December 9 and 11, and the results will be announced on December 13. Among the candidates are several unusual individuals who are putting their unique skills to the test. A group of four law students from Kannur have decided to run for office in different districts, leveraging their shared Left ideology and law background. Ashrin Kalakkat, Aswathi Das, Anupriya Krishna, and Shivani Parambatt are contesting gram panchayat wards in their home districts, with Ashrin running in a municipality ward in Thrissur district. R Sreelekha, a former DGP of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, is making a comeback in politics after joining the BJP. She is contesting the municipal corporation elections from the Sasthamangalam ward in Thiruvananthapuram and could potentially become the next mayor if her party wins a majority. A peculiar contest is underway in the Ambalam ward in Tripunithura municipality, where two candidates with the same name, K Radhika Varma of the BJP and Radhika Varma of the CPI(M), are vying for the top spot. Despite being from rival parties, the two women are friends and have a good understanding of the voters' needs. Wilfred Raj, a mortuary worker at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital, is contesting the local body polls as the RJD candidate in the Nadakkavu ward in Kozhikode Municipal Corporation. His experience in preparing bodies for last rites has given him a unique perspective on life and death. Congress leader Anil Akkara, a former MLA, is seeking to return to the grassroots by contesting the elections from the Adat panchayat in his hometown. He has served as Adat panchayat president in the past and wants to win back the panchayat for his party. Ajanya S Aji, a 21-year-old arts degree student, is the youngest candidate in the state to contest the local body polls this time. She is fighting from the Thachottukavu ward in her native grama panchayat on an LDF ticket, following in the footsteps of Arya Rajendran, who was elected as the mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation at the same age in the previous election.