An MLA room where a father’s memories meet a son’s journey
For Nilambur’s Congress MLA Aryadan Shoukath, moving into Room 204 at the Kerala Legislative Assembly Hostel is more than a room allotment. It is a
For Nilambur’s Congress MLA Aryadan Shoukath, moving into Room 204 at the Kerala Legislative Assembly Hostel is more than a room allotment. It is a return to a place filled with memories of his late father, veteran Congress leader Aryadan Mohammed. Shoukath has been allotted the same room in the Chandragiri Block that his father used from 2006 to 2011. Aryadan Mohammed, who represented Nilambur for 34 years, occupied the room while serving as Congress parliamentary party secretary, when Oommen Chandy was the Leader of the Opposition.
The room was once a meeting place for Congress leaders, where political discussions and Opposition strategies took shape. K.C. Venugopal occupied the room next door at the time. Aryadan Mohammed moved out in 2011 after becoming Electricity Minister in the Oommen Chandy government. His former room was later allotted to Peravoor MLA Sunny Joseph, who has now moved to a Ministerial residence. Shoukath, who entered the Assembly after winning the 2025 Nilambur by-election, was initially allotted Room 56 in the Nila Block.
After returning to the Assembly with a record 54,851-vote majority in May, he requested his father’s former room. Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan granted his request after the room became vacant. For Mr. Shoukath, the room is more than a space in the Assembly hostel; it is a place where his father’s memory seems to come alive. “Whenever I enter this room, I can almost see my father sitting in that reclining chair, wearing his banyan, absorbed in a book and making notes,” he said.
A room that once witnessed Aryadan Mohammed’s political life has now come back to his son, creating an emotional link between two generations of Nilambur’s political family.
The BriefWire