Chintha Jerome has been elected as state president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), becoming the first woman to head the organisation. M Vijin, former SFI state secretary and Kalliasseri MLA, has been elected as the state secretary. R Rahul will be state treasurer.

The decision was taken earlier at a meeting of the DYFI leadership and was formally announced at the venue of the organisation’s state conference in Thrissur on Saturday.

A native of Kollam, Chintha Jerome has been active in student and youth politics and previously served as the chairperson of the Kerala State Youth Commission from 2016-2023. She has also held leadership positions in the SFI and DYFI.

Vijin, who was elected from Kalliasseri for a second consecutive term, is set to move to the DYFI after serving as SFI state secretary. His performance in that role strengthened his case for the DYFI leadership. 

The DYFI normally changes its leadership every three years. However, four years have passed since its last state conference, which was held in Pathanamthitta in 2022. V K Sanoj and V Vaseef were elected as the organisation’s state president and secretary at that conference.

At the state conference in Thrissur, the DYFI leadership reviewed organisational activities, discussed youth-centric policies and elected a new state committee to lead the organisation’s initiatives across Kerala.