New Delhi: For the first time in its 158-year history, the Mysuru Municipal Corporation has a Muslim woman mayor – Tasneem. According to the Indian Express, Tasneem is also the youngest ever mayor of the city. She is 31.
Tasneem has lived all her life in Mysuru’s Meena Bazaar area, and has been the corporator for the area since 2013. She replaced her uncle, three-time corporator Alhaj Naseeruddin Babu, as the Congress candidate from the ward after it was earmarked for women.
In 2018, she contested again on a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket and won. According to Indian Express, she was part of a Congress faction that chose to back the JD(S) before the assembly elections. She was reportedly a very popular corporator and a successful grassroots mobiliser, and thus made her way to the mayor’s position.
Tasneem told the Indian Express that she is making efforts to ensure that Mysuru retains its “cleanest city” tag. “Even though we ended up third on the list of cleanest cities in the 2019 rankings, we are now working towards securing the coveted top spot on the list. With the dedicated service of our pourakarmikas, officers across all levels and with the help of our residents, we are confident of winning the ‘Cleanest City’ tag this time. This is my priority as of now.”
Tasneem father, Munnavar Pasha, is a tailor and mother, Tahseen Banu, a homemaker. Tasneem herself now has two children. Her husband runs an embroidery business in Meena Bazaar.