KOCHI: They are friends and relatives. But, as the daughters of two towering personalities and former comrades cross swords, Ambalam ward of Tripunithura municipality is set to witness a fierce contest.
BJP candidate K Radhika Varma is a two-time sitting councillor and daughter of Capt Kerala Varma, the personal security officer of Aikya Kerala Thampuran, who ruled the erstwhile Cochin kingdom from 1946 to 1948. The CPM has fielded Radhika Varma, president of the women’s troupe of the Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram and daughter of K T Rama Varma, who was a prominent communist. The Congress has fielded Devipriya.
The Cochin royal family is known for its progressive outlook and it was Aikya Kerala Thampuran, also known as Kerala Varma VII, who played a pivotal role in the merger of British Malabar, Kochi and Travancore -- paving the way for the formation of the state of Kerala.
Capt Kerala Varma, who was an officer with the Madras regiment was expelled from the British Army for his association with communists. He later assumed charge as the personal security officer of the maharaja. Later, he distanced himself from the communists following differences of opinion.
K Radhika Varma served as headmistress of Chinmaya Vidyalaya. She won the Ambalam seat in 2015 and 2020, as a BJP candidate. She is a member of the party state council.
Hoping to end BJP’s dominance of the ward, kathakali artist Radhika Varma has been fielded as a CPM independent. Leading the women’s troupe, she received the Nari Sakti Puraskar from President Pranab Mukherjee in 2017 for women’s empowerment.
“Though our ideologies differ, we are friends and maintain a good relationship as cousins,” said CPM independent candidate Radhika Varma.
Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded another member of the royal family in Vadakke Kotta ward. R V Sivadasan Thampuran has been associated with the party for the past 40 years. Sivadasan says he was active in the KSU while studying at Thrissur Kerala Varma College.
“The royal family has been known for its progressive outlook but our members have diverse political views. Our family supported the Paliam Satyagraha demanding the right of lower castes to enter roads surrounding the Paliam family home in Chendamangalam,” said Ramabhadran Thampuran, president of the Tripunithura Royal Family Foundation.