Kerala local body poll results: Kanniyamma scripts a rare political comeback in Idukki
IDUKKI: Kanniyamma Alakarswami may have only won the Kanthalloor panchayat election by the narrowest of margins (13 votes), but the victory could not be any more profound. Having secured the peoples mandate here is also indicative of the fact that they have now embraced Kanniyamma, who was expelled years ago from the Muthuvan community for defying tribal customs. Contesting on a Congress ticket, the 60-year-old won 191 votes and pipped BJP candidate Anitha C, who managed only 178 votes. CPIs Meenakshi came a distant third with 90 votes. I am happy that people trusted me again, Kanniyamma told TNIE . This victory shows that work and sincerity matter more than old divisions. Indeed, the victory marked a rare political comeback in the high range, where social customs have a gravity as heavy as the mountains that dot the region. It was the death of her first-born during childbirth and the near loss of another daughter to a snakebite whilst living in Edamalakkudy, a settlement without access to hospitals, that forced Kanniyamma to rethink long-held customs. The ensuing fracturing of the relationship with the community manifested in the physical when she and her family moved to Susannakkudi, a place also within the tribal fold. However, the final rupture came when her elder daughter married a man from Bihar, an act considered a serious breach of Mutuvan traditions. The family was thus forced to move again, and so they did: to Kanthalloor. Here, Kanniyamma remained active in public life, even as she remained socially excluded from her community. Serving as a local body member, she persistently engaged with tribal families. Ahead of the polls, Kanniyamma told TNIE about this heartening change. The community that once ostracised us now cooperates with us. Rigid community systems are changing with time, she said.
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