From Vyttila to Helsinki: This Malayali could be the next Finland mayor

Ranjith Kumar Prabhakaran, from Maradu near Vyttila, has been elected to the municipal council of Hameenlinna for the third time running, and is now in with a good chance to clinch the mayor's post.

According to a Mathrubhumi report, Ranjith, who is a councillor from the Social Democratic Party, was among three Malayalees who contested at the municipal elections in Finland this year, and was the only one to win.

There are reportedly 1,200 Malayalees in Finland, and Ranjith is a hugely popular figure among the Hameenlinna Malayalee Association members.

However, in Finland the mayor is not elected directly but by the municipal council. So Ranjith still has some way to go before he claims the top post. However, going by his rise from 40th position in 2008 to 4th position in 2017, he is now in with a solid chance.

Ranjith, who graduated from the Government Arts College in Tripunithura, has been a permanent resident of Finland since 2001 after he married localite Minna Eklof, whom he met in Kerala. Minna had come to Kerala to learn about Ayurvedic medicines and met Ranjith at the company he was working with.

Ranjith then learned Finnish and also secured a nursing degree from Finland, before venturing into politics.

• Kochi
• Finland
• Mayor