Aluva, Ernakulam: Mahima Antony, the LDF candidate from Ward 9 of the Aluva municipality in Ernakulam district, is just 21 years and nine months old, one of the youngest contestants in the upcoming Local Body elections in Kerala.

A CUSAT student, she is currently in the eighth semester of her Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding course, juggling campaign duties with ongoing seventh-semester exams. Between classes and revision sessions, she finds time to hit the campaign trail.

Her classmates were stunned when she told them she had entered the electoral fray. “After stepping into the very first house to ask for votes, I immediately felt the election vibe,” Mahima said.

Her father, Antony Joseph, is a teacher at Kuttamassery Government School and the district president of KSSTF, the teachers’ wing of the Kerala Congress (M). Since the party was allotted the seat in Aluva, Mahima received the opportunity to contest. Her mother Ansi is a teacher at St Francis School. Her sister, Minna Antony, studies at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram.

Krishna Ramachandran: Youngster follows mother’s path in public life

Following in the footsteps of her mother, former Aluva municipal councillor Shaiji, Krishna Ramachandran is contesting as the LDF candidate from Ward 10. Krishna is 21 years old.

Shaiji contested twice and won once in 2015 before taking a government job under the reservation quota. With her mother stepping away from electoral politics, the LDF did not have to look far for a new face.

Krishna said she considers the candidature a natural extension of what she has seen and heard growing up in a politically active family. She is a sixth-semester BA Economics student at Airapuram SSV College. Her father, Ramachandran, is an auto driver, and her elder sister Arya works in Kuwait.

Mohammed Rafi: From campus politics to the local body

After leading the KSU’s triumph at Edathala Al Ameen College in 2024, Mohammed Rafi is now taking his first big leap into electoral politics. He is the UDF candidate in Ward 13, Kailas Nagar, under the Edathala panchayat.

Rafi, 21 years and eight months old, recently completed his Tourism Studies degree from Al Ameen College. As KSU unit president, he helped the organisation end a decade-long streak of opposition control in the college union elections.

With the panchayat election approaching, the Congress leadership chose Rafi as its candidate. He currently helps his uncles in their dry-fruits business. His father is Nizar, mother Fasla, and sister Najia is a student.