Kerala has witnessed politicians coming together in high-profile marriages, but not of politicians and civil service officers to create power alliances.
That could all be changing with Aruvikkara MLA K.S. Sabarinadhan and Thiruvananthapuram Subcollector Divya S. Iyer deciding to tie the knot.
A post on Facebook by Mr. Sabarinadhan on Tuesday on his impending marriage with Dr. Iyer, along with a photo of them, set the ball rolling for congratulatory messages and calls. The 34-year-old legislator, who entered politics following the death of his father, former Speaker G. Karthikeyan, said they had met only recently and found that they shared the same outlook and beliefs.
A 2014 batch IAS officer, Dr. Iyer said they had first met for official purposes in Thiruvananthapuram not long ago. “While we gradually became friends and got to know more of each other, somebody, who knew us, came up with the idea of a matrimonial alliance,” she said.
Despite the complexities of their professions, she expressed confidence that their ideologies “will not cross lines and affect each other professionally”.
“Beyond our professions, our aspirations match to a large extent. Importantly, we are involved in avenues in public service that are aligned to each other and are intended for the welfare of the people. Having strong opinions on issues, we would not want to exchange them for each other. The ability to appreciate these differences turned out to be the clinching factor in our decision,” Dr. Iyer said.
While their families are yet to finalise the date and venue of the marriage, the function is expected to be held in the last week of June. A reception is slated in Thiruvananthapuram in the first week of July.
