Actor Siddique is new AMMA general secretary

Actor Siddique has been elected as the new general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The elections to find the new office bearers were held at the annual general body meeting held at the Sree Gokulam Convention Centre in Kochi on Sunday.

This was the first time that AMMA conducted elections for the post of general secretary, which was held by actor Edavela Babu for several years. Siddique, who was contesting against Kukku Parameshwaram and Unni Sivapal, had the support of many actors. He was also the preferred candidate of the Producers' Association and the film directors' union.

Mohanlal at the AMMA general body meet. Photo | Arun Sreedhar

Babu had expressed his desire to quit the post during the previous election held in 2021 but reversed the decision following an emotional appeal by Mammootty. However, before this election he decided to step down and announced that he would not continue as general secretary under any compulsion.

Jagadish and Jayan Cherthala, who were in the fray along with Manju Pillai, were elected as the vice-presidents. Baburaj, who had contested against Anoop Chandran, will be the new joint secretary. A total of 337 artists voted at this year's annual general meeting.

Mammootty, who is in the UK, could not attend the meeting. Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi attended the function. He was also felicitated by AMMA members for his electoral win during the event. In his response, the actor recalled how the association had been instrumental in his journey as an artist. At a meeting held in Kochi last week, Mohanlal was again elected as the president of the association. He has been holding the post for the past two terms. Unni Mukundan was elected unopposed as AMMA's treasurer.