Tamilisai Soundararajan | |
|---|---|
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| 2ndGovernor of Telangana | |
| In office 8 September 2019 – 19 March 2024[1] | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Preceded by | E. S. L. Narasimhan |
| Succeeded by | C. P. Radhakrishnan(additional charge) |
| Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry | |
(Additional Charge) | |
| In office 18 February 2021 – 19 March 2024[1] | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Preceded by | Kiran Bedi |
| Succeeded by | C. P. Radhakrishnan(additional charge) |
| 10th President ofBharatiya Janata Party, Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 16 August 2014 – 1 September 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Pon Radhakrishnan |
| Succeeded by | L. Murugan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1961-06-02)2 June 1961 (age 64)[2] |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | P. Soundararajan |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Kumari Ananthan (Father) Kumari Krishna (Mother)Vasanthakumar (Paternal Uncle) |
| Residence(s) | Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India |
| Alma mater | Madras Medical College (MBBS) |
| Profession |
|
Tamilisai Soundararajan (born 2 June 1961) is an Indian politician belongs toBharatiya Janata Party. She served as the secondGovernor of Telangana from 2019 until 2024. He was also served asLieutenant Governor of Puducherry (Additional charge). She was the National Secretary andTamil Nadu State Unit President of theBJP prior to this appointment.[3][4]
Tamilisai Soundararajan resigned from the posts as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry on 18 March 2024 and rejoinedBJP in the presence of Tamil Nadu BJP PresidentK. Annamalai [ta], Union MinisterG. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of StateL. Murugan on 20 March 2024.[5]
She was born inKaliyakkavilai,Kanyakumari,Tamil Nadu on 2 June 1961.[6] Her fatherKumari Ananthan,[7] was a former Member of Parliament and a senior Indian National Congress leader in Tamil Nadu. Whereas, her husband, Soundararajan, is amedical doctor.[8]
She graduated fromEthiraj College for Women, pursued her MBBS atMadras Medical College,Chennai[9] and herobstetrics and gynaecology qualifications atDr. MGR Medical University,Chennai. She was trained insonology andfrozen embryo transfer therapy at theUniversity of Toronto andThe Hospital for Sick Children inToronto, Canada.
Prior to political commitment she worked as an assistant professor atRamachandra Medical College,Chennai for 5 years.[9] She has two children.
In recognition of her dedicated service to the society and general public and promoting gender equality women empowerment, she was awarded “ International Rising Star of the Year – 2018” by multi ethnic advisory task force, USA operating under US CongressmanDanny K. Davis.[10][11]
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Tamilisai Soundararajan became interested in politics from childhood, having been brought up in a political family.[12]She was elected as a student leader during her studies atMadras Medical College. She served the Tamil Nadu state BJP unit in various capacities starting from South Chennai District Medical Wing Secretary in 1999, State General Secretary Medical Wing in 2001, All India Co-Convenor (Medical Wing For Southern States)[13] in 2005, State General Secretary in 2007, State Vice-President in 2010 and elevated as National Secretary, All India BJP in 2013.[14][15]
She was appointed theGovernor ofTelangana on 1 September 2019 by the order of thePresident of India,Ram Nath Kovind and currently is also 1st woman to hold the office of the state. She took charge as Governor of Telangana on 9 September 2019. She was given additional charge ofPuducherry (union territory) on 16 February 2021 and is fifth woman to hold the office of the Union Territory.[16][17] During theCOVID-19 pandemic she visited healthcare workers in hospitals and encouraged vaccination.
Tamilisai Soundararajan has lost in all her attempts at becoming anMP orMLA to date, having contested two Assembly elections and Parliament elections unsuccessfully. In the2019 Indian general election, she lost againstKanimozhi Karunanidhi, daughter of formerchief minister of Tamil NaduM. Karunanidhi fromThoothukkudi.[18][19] She extensively campaigned in parliament and assembly elections across the state.[20]
She conducted a programme promoting the oratory skills for students and children, which was broadcast on the Tamil channelRaj TV for more than 10 years.[9] She conducted a weekly programme for women inDoordarshan Channel which was aired as Magalir Panchayat (Women's Court) for over 5 years. She participated in several political debates against other political leaders includingSun TV,NDTV,Times Now and various local channels.[9]
| Year | Constituency | Party | Result | Votes % | Opponent | Votes % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Chennai North | BJP | Lost | 3.54 | DMK | T. K. S. Elangovan | 42.59 | ||
| 2019 | Thoothukkudi | Lost | 21.77 | Kanimozhi Karunanidhi | 56.77 | ||||
| 2024 | Chennai South | Lost | 26.43 | Thamizhachi Thangapandian | 46.97 | ||||
| Year | Constituency | Party | Result | Votes % | Opponent | Votes % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Radhapuram | BJP | Lost | 4.70 | DMK | M. Appavu | 43.36 | ||
| 2011 | Velachery | Lost | 4.63 | AIADMK | M.K. Ashok | 53.91 | |||
| 2016 | Virugampakkam | Lost | 11.19 | Virugai V.N. Ravi | 38.51 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIADMK | Virugai V. N. Ravi | 65,979 | 38.51% | New | |
| DMK | K. Thanasekaran | 63,646 | 37.15% | −2.72 | |
| BJP | Tamilisai Soundararajan | 19,167 | 11.19% | +5.96 | |
| DMDK | B. Parthasarathy | 9,730 | 5.68% | −43.97 | |
| PMK | C. H. Jayarao | 3,945 | 2.30% | New | |
| NOTA | NOTA | 3,897 | 2.27% | New | |
| NTK | T. S. Rajendran | 2,926 | 1.71% | New | |
| Margin of victory | 2,333 | 1.36% | −8.42% | ||
| Turnout | 171,339 | 58.63% | −8.41% | ||
| Registered electors | 292,248 | ||||
| AIADMKgain fromDMDK | Swing | -11.14% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIADMK | M. K. Ashok | 82,145 | 53.91 | New | |
| PMK | M. Jayaraman | 50,425 | 33.10 | New | |
| Independent | E. Sarathbabu | 7,472 | 4.90 | New | |
| BJP | Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan | 7,048 | 4.63 | New | |
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party | Senthil Kumar Arumugam | 1,225 | 0.80 | New | |
| IJK | K. N. Seshadri | 1,036 | 0.68 | New | |
| Margin of victory | 31,720 | 20.82 | |||
| Turnout | 152,364 | 67.05 | |||
| Registered electors | 227,249 | ||||
| AIADMKwin (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMK | M. Appavu | 49,249 | 43.36 | +21.38 | |
| AIADMK | L. Gnanapunitha | 38,552 | 33.94 | New | |
| Independent | K. P. K. Selvaraj | 9,017 | 7.94 | New | |
| DMDK | S. Sivanaintha Perumal | 6,404 | 5.64 | New | |
| BJP | Thamizhisai | 5,343 | 4.70 | New | |
| AIFB | A. Parvathi | 1,059 | 0.93 | New | |
| Independent | A. Selvaraj | 1,051 | 0.93 | New | |
| Independent | S. Thanam | 994 | 0.88 | New | |
| Margin of victory | 10,697 | 9.42 | −9.18 | ||
| Turnout | 113,584 | 65.42 | 11.13 | ||
| Registered electors | 173,633 | ||||
| DMKgain fromIndependent | Swing | -2.04 | |||
Tamilisai Soundararajan is a supporter of the#metoo movement and has emphasised that any woman who had faced sexual harassment should get justice.[24]
Tamilisai Soundararajan has asserted that temples must be managed by committees formed of devotees of the temple and consist of theists.[25]
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Telangana in the year 2019, replacing the post held by E.S.L. Narasimhan.[26] She's the second governor of the State of Telangana, which was formed on 2 June 2014.[27] She's the youngest among all state governors.[28] To explore the resources among alumni, an online portal called 'Chancellor Connect' was created.
Raj Bhavan under Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, in association with Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), instituted 'Chancellor's Awards' for best teachers, best research, and best university in academic social responsibility.[29]
Dr. Tamilisai organised meetings in association with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, to create a detailed action plan for formulating an appropriate nutrition intervention program for Telangana's tribal communities.[30][31]
In April 2023, the Telangana Government filed a writ petition in thesupreme court against Tamilisai Soundararajan for failing to provide her assent for 10 bills nearly seven months after the state legislature had passed them.[32]
Tamilisai Soundararajan resigned from both postsTelangana Governor and Puducherry Lieutenant-Governor on 18 March 2024 ahead of 2024 Loksabha Elections. She contested in the2024 Indian general elections from Chennai South constituency inTamil Nadu.[33]
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan was sworn in as Lt. Governor of Puducherry (additional charge ) on 18 February 2021.[34] Chief Justice of Madras High court Justice Sanjeeb Banerjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to her. Tamilisai took the oath in Tamil[35] and tendered her resignation on 18 March 2024.[33]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Telangana 8 September 2019 – 19 March 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 28th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry 18 February 2021 – 19 March 2024 | Succeeded by |