'A degree course in life': For state's youngest panchayat president, politics means service

RESHMA Mariam Roy, who scripted history as Kerala's youngest panchayat president at the age of 21, likens her tenure to a lengthy degree course in life as she nears the completion of her five-year term.

- JAISON WILSON @Pathanamthitta

"For me, politics is not a career but a service — a belief that drives me to strive for the constituency's holistic development. If politics becomes a job, corruption is inevitable. If you ask me about what I have achieved, my answer is experiences and the trust of people," she says, reflecting on her unexpected yet transformative journey in public life that began in 2021.

A day after turning 21, Reshma filed her nomination papers to contest from Aruvappulam panchayat, in Konni, on the last date for filing nominations. "I had just completed my degree course. If the deadline for filing nominations was just a day earlier, my life would have taken a different course," she tells TNIE.