MALAPPURAM: A 26-year-old B.Ed student has scripted history by becoming the youngest chairperson of a municipality in the state. It was Nitha Shaheer C A who got that rare distinction when she was elected the chairperson of Kondotty municipality on Friday after securing 32 out of the 40 votes cast in the polls.
The LDF candidate Nimisha K P secured only six votes and the votes of two UDF councillors were declared invalid.
Prior to this, the record for the youngest municipal chairperson in the state was held by Murshida B, the 27-year-old chairperson of Thaliparamba municipality. In the IUML-dominated municipality, Nitha, a Congress councillor, was given the opportunity to contest the election under a UDF agreement that a term would be allotted to a Congress councillor as chairperson. When IUML chairperson Fathimath Suhrabi C T stepped down, the Congress nominated Nitha as their candidate.
She is currently serving as the councillor for Neeradu division and was Vice President of the Youth Congress Kondotty Municipal Committee. Nitha disclosed her desire to transform the municipal area into a clean zone. “I will do my utmost to enhance the municipality’s waste management system,” she said. “The beautification of the town is also among my development priorities. As a representative of the youth, I intend to explore the challenges faced by young people in the municipality. I will also develop a comprehensive plan to improve employment opportunities for them,” she added.
A handball player, Nitha joined the district team during her studies at PMSAPTHSS, Kakkove. She completed her BSc in Physics from Government Arts and Science College, Kozhikode.
Meanwhile, Malappuram District Congress Committee (DCC) President V S Joy, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Aryadan Shoukath, and Youth Congress Malappuram District President Haris Mudur conveyed their congratulations to Nitha on social media.