Assam woman contesting election in Kerala gets offer of a house from actor-turned MP Suresh Gopi

The ward she is contesting from is currently held by IUML

A love affair that began with a wrong number dialled by a Malayali youth seven years ago has changed the life of Munmi, a native of Assam, who is now even contesting in local body elections in Kerala. Popular actor-turned-politician Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi has even offered a home for her after coming across her plight.

Munmi is contesting at Vikas Nagar ward (ward no. 11) of Iritti municipality in the suburbs of Kannur district for the local body polls next month. She is now actively involved in a campaign using her Malayalam with Assamese slang.

Munmi's husband K N Shaji has been an active RSS-BJP worker of the locality and this indeed paved way for Munmi's entry to electoral politics.

Iritti native Shaji, who is a construction worker, got in touch with Munmi in 2013 after he wrongly dialled the number when trying to contact a construction worker from Assam who used to work in Kerala. That wrong number subsequently developed into a love affair and it resulted in the two getting married with the blessings of their families. Now she has learnt to speak Malayalam and also knows to cook dishes from Kerala cuisine. The family comprising Shaji, Munmi and their two children Sadhika and Hrithika are now staying in a one-room rented house at Iritti.

Suresh Gopi came across Munmi and her poor living condition through media reports and subsequently he offered to pay for her house.

BJP local leader Suresh told DH that Munmi was quite close with the party ever since she reached Kerala and hence she opted to contest local body polls from the ward which is currently held by the Indian Union Muslim League. She is receiving a good acceptance among the local people as she was quite familiar to them, he said.

Kerala has a considerable population of migrant workers, many of whom are from Assam also. Many migrant workers have also settled in Kerala with families.