Kerala: From a hamlet to the corridors of power

MANANTHAVADI: Palott Kunhaman, a mail overseer at the Subdivisional Post Office here and wife Ammini were very much worried about their eldest daughter Jayalakshmi when she refused to tie the nuptial knot at the age of thirty.
Unlike her two younger sisters, who are housewives, Jayalakshmi opted for the slippery and demanding corridors of politics. A busy ward member of Thavinjal Village Panchayat for the past six years, she always wanted to do service to the common man. A graduate in English Literature from Government College, here, the selfless service of Jayalakshmi grabbed the attention of none other than Rahul Gandhi, who had been to Wayanad on a talent hunt in the Youth Congress. Naturally, when elections came, her name found its way into the list submitted by Rahul. Former district secretary of KSU, the students wing of the Congress, she climbed the organisational ladder at a steady pace. She has served as a member of statelevel representatives' committee of Mahila Congress, general secretary, Wayanad parliamentary constituencylevel committee and chairperson, panchayat standing committee (health and family welfare). Jayalakshmi also served as the district president of Kurichiya Samudaya Samrakshana Vikasana Samithy.