Keralite student becomes youngest ever councillor from Malayalee community in UK: Six winners

By A Staff Reporter

LONDON May 6: An 18-year-old Keralite student from Bradley Stoke in South Gloucestershire has won the local council elections and scripted history to become the youngest ever councillor from the borough.

Aleena Aditya, contested for the Tories from the Primrose Bridge ward of Bradley Stoke Council.

Aleena, who attends St Bede’s College Bristol, defeated two former mayors from the panel of contestants for the Primrose Bridge Ward and became the only Conservative to win from this ward.

The contestants included three Conservative concillors, one Green Party, one Labour and one Independent. Out of this Aleena saved the pride for the Conservatives. The other two who won were Green Party and Labour Party.

Aleena’s parents are Tom Aditya and Liny who are originally from Ranni in Kerala. Her siblings are Abishek, Albert, Adona and Alphons.

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Meanwhile, Aleena’s father Tom Aditya, former Mayor of Bradley Stoke, also won in the elections. Tom too was the only saviour for Tories from the Willowbrook Ward.

There were five candidates in this ward with three Conservatives, and two Labour. Labour won two seats and with Tom’s win it was saving the pride for Conservatives.

Around thirty candidates from the Keralite community contested in the council elections held on May 4 with the results announced yesterday.

Reports we received only shows that five other candidates came out in flying colours.

The five other winning councillors from the Malayalee community are:

Bibin Baby, contesting for Labour Party won from the Sprowston East Ward for Broadland District Council.

Sojan Joseph, contesting for Labour Party from the Aylesford & East Stour of Ashford Borough Council in Kent.

Tom Aditya, contesting for Conservatives from the Willowbrook ward of Bradley Stoke Council in South Gloucestershire.

Sivakumarkunjwadavsala Gangadharan (known as Siva, Ganga) was elected unopposed to the Digswell Ward of Welwyn Parish Council

Dr Jyothi Arayambath, who contested for the Boston Independent Party, pipped Jennifer Yvonne Stevens, who was the Conservative party’s mayoral candidate by one vote. Dr Jyothi contested from the Trinity ward of Boston Borough Council in Lincolnshire.

Dr Jyothi Arayambath, who contested for the Boston Independent Party, pipped Jennifer Yvonne Stevens, who was the Conservative party’s mayoral candidate by one vote.

Dr Jyothi is from Kannur in Kerala. She did her schooling in St. Mary’s Girls High School, Payyanur and Studied Medicine at Government Medical College, Kozhikode (Calicut) and later furthered her eduction from University of Leeds.

Dr Jyothi is Founder and Managing Trustee at Mental Health Action Trust-UK. She lives in Boston, Lincolnshire with her family.

Prior to the election, the Conservatives accounted for almost half of the total number of councillors on the authority, with a tally of 14; now, it has just five and is a distant second to the new Boston Independent group, which saw 18 of its 24 candidates elected. Elsewhere, five seats went to independent candidates, one to a Blue Revolution candidate, and one to the Liberal Democrats.

Labour now has no representation on the council. Prior to the election, it held two seats on the council – Fenside, where it finished third, 13 votes behind the Tories; and Station, where it did not field a candidate. It only fielded three candidates in total.