Ramya Haridas – Young Congress Leader from Kerala

Ramya Haridas is a Congress leader from Kerala who contested her maiden Lok Sabha elections from Alathur constituency. The most unlikely candidate from Kerala, this young dalit leader was handpicked by Rahul Gandhi to be fielded against LDF candidate P. K. Biju, sitting MP since 2009. After the polls were counted in May 2019, it was a historic moment for Kerala politics as she became the first female dalit parliamentarian from the state after its unification in 1956. She is one among the two female candidates of UDF from Kerala this time, and the youngest among all UDF candidates from the state. She was 32 when she became a parliamentarian in 2019 with a margin of more than 1.5 lakhs against LDF’s prominent leader Biju.

She is the daughter of a daily wage worker from Kunnamangalam, Kozhikode. P. P. Haridas and Radha are her parents. She was born in 1987. A local champion of marginalised Dalit community, she is an influential leader who got into active political field through Jawahar Bala Jana Vedi. She currently serves as the block Panchayat President of Kunnamangalam. She has been a member of Kerala Students Union and Youth Congress, Congress youth outfits during her academics. Now she is being fielded in Alathur to block hat-trick win of P. K. Biju in parliamentary elections. Alathur constitutes of seven legislative assembly segments from Thrissur and Palakkad districts. As a part of election campaigns, a fund drive was also started – ‘Ramya Haridas Challenge Fund’.

Ramya Haridas – Some interesting facts

1. Dance, music and social work are her prime interests. She is a graduate of music and currently pursuing PG in the same subject.

2. She also serves as Youth Congress Parliamentary Secretary of Kozhikode and also state secretary of Congress women’s wing, Mahila Congress.

3. She was one of the ten delegates to attend “Ship for World Youth Programme”, a training programme to nurse young leaders by UDF government, and she travelled in many countries.

4. She is a motivational trainer and speaker in the local circle, and known for addressing dalit issues.

5. She is a volunteer and campaigner at Nilambur LSG, and has been associated with many educational programs.

6. Since school days she is quite active in cultural events and has won many prizes in dance and music competitions at district and state level. She has also donned the role of a dance teacher.

7. She was one of the toppers of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Talent Hunt’ in 2010 which was launched to find the upcoming leaders of the political party.

8. She was one among the top most Lok Sabha candidates from the state who became a target of online bullies and politicians from Kerala, since she was announced as candidate. LDF’s convener A. Vijayaraghavan’s sexist remarks against Ramya during an election campaign in Ponnani created wrath from all corners. 

9. Her record margin of 158968 votes against the left candidate Dr. P. K. Biju in the left dominant constituency of Alathur, which is indeed a great achievement of a young leader in her early 30s.  

10. Ever since Alathur constituency was formed in 2009, LDF’s Biju has been elected by voters. This time, he failed to complete hat-trick, following the shock treatment given by UDF.

11. Congressmen called her ‘Little Sister’ during election campaigns. 

12. She is one among the 19 winning UDF candidates of Kerala out of 20 who contested in 17th Lok Sabha elections. When BJP fully dominated the election results, she along with her party managed to withstand the hysteria of ‘Modi Magic’ created across the nation.

13. She is the only elected woman MP from Kerala in 2019 Lok sabha elections.

14. She is unmarried at the age of 32 now as a newly elected parliamentarian, and marriage is still not in her dreams.

15. She became the second parliamentarian after Dakshayani Velayudhan from Kerala to become parliamentarian. Dakshayani was a member of Constituent Assembly of India which acted as the first parliament of free India. After the formation of Kerala state, Ramya is the only elected woman dalit parliamentarian from the state.

Author’s note: In my opinion, it’s not right to call someone Dalit or categorize his/her achievements based on it. Personally I feel no discrimination between people belonging to different castes or groups, and usually never mention so in my posts. Here I mentioned it so, only because she is identified as a young and prominent dalit leader from Kerala. Excuses.