Thrissur ,August 22(IANS)
Chinta Jerome has been elected Kerala state president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), while Kalliasseri MLA M Vijin has been chosen as the organisation’s state secretary.
The new leadership was elected at the DYFI state conference held in Thrissur. Advocate R Rahul was named state treasurer. The conference also elected a 92-member state committee and a 25-member secretariat.
Jerome began her public life as an activist of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). She served as the organisation’s Kollam area president, district joint secretary, state vice-president and central committee member. She was chairperson of the Kerala University Union during 2007-08 and also served on the university’s Senate and Syndicate.
Before being elevated as DYFI state president, Jerome was the organisation’s state joint secretary and a central committee member. She served as chairperson of the Kerala State Youth Commission from 2016 to 2023. At the CPI(M) state conference in Ernakulam, she became the youngest member elected to the party’s state committee.
Born in Kollam to teachers C Jerome and Esther Jerome, she completed her schooling at Vimala Hridaya Higher Secondary School. She earned undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in English literature from Fatima Mata National College, Kollam. After completing her BEd, she obtained a doctorate in English literature from Kerala University. She has also qualified for UGC-NET and Junior Research Fellowship.
Vijin entered politics through Balasangham and later held several leadership positions in the SFI. He served as SFI Kannur district secretary and president, state secretary and all-India joint secretary. In the DYFI, he worked as unit president, unit secretary and Kannur district treasurer.
Vijin was serving as DYFI state vice-president and central committee member before his elevation. He is also a CPI(M) Kannur district committee member and has represented Kalliasseri in the Assembly since 2021.
R Shyama, V Anoop, Mohammed Afsal, P Shabeer and Nikhil Babu were elected vice-presidents. Greeshma Ajayaghosh, Rajeev Vellattu, Shyam Prasad, Sachin Dev and K Anusree were chosen as joint secretaries.
