New Delhi: Among the new governors that President Ramnath Kovind appointed Sunday was the Tamil Nadu BJP president Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, who takes over in Telangana.
Soundararajan was appointed as the state BJP president in early 2014 and political analysts say that the party is now looking for a new face in the state while giving her an ‘honourable exit’.
The decision to appoint Soundararajan as Telangana governor has come amid talk of change in the Tamil Nadu unit following the party’s drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But the state unit chief has earned a reputation of having worked hard for the party.
“Tamilisai has led the party very well through electoral defeats. This is the first time that BJP has given an honourable exit to a Tamil Nadu party leader,” said N. Sathiya Moorthy, an analyst with the Observer Research Foundation. “This can hurt the sentiments of the party veterans in Tamil Nadu but at the same time, this is a signal for the ruling party in Telangana that the BJP is sending a politically active, demonstrative and vociferous person as the governor.”
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Party contemplated Rajya Sabha berth
Sources told ThePrint that the BJP had expected to win a few seats in Tamil Nadu but once it suffered a washout, the party was keen on a change in leadership. One of the sources said that there were talks to make Soundararajan a minister or at least nominate her for the Rajya Sabha from another state.
“They had a hope to win a few seats from Tamil Nadu in the recent Lok Sabha elections. It has been a washout. Someone had to pay a price,” Moorthy said.
Political analyst Sumanth C. Raman reckons that Soundararajan is being rewarded for all the hard work she has put in. “She put in a tremendous amount of effort, unlike her predecessors. She has managed to establish the party in the state by building grassroots and booth-level cadre,” he said. “This is graceful move from the party. From a political perspective, she is way too young to retire. She might also give a comeback like Kummanam Rajasekharan who was called back to fight the Lok Sabha election from being the Mizoram governor.”
Even rival DMK acknowledged Soundararajan’s work in the state. “Looking at the contribution of Dr. Tamilisai, this appointment has raised questions on everybody’s mind. Usually, Raj Bhawan is a place for retired politicians but Dr. Tamilisai is an active politician and it is natural for us to think whether she is sent to accommodate someone else in the position,” said DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai. “We may have our political differences but the good wishes coming to her across party lines is the recognition of all her hard work over the years.”
The doctor who rose through the ranks
Though associated with the BJP, Soundararajan was born into a family of Congress leaders.
A doctor by profession, she has led the BJP’s medical wing at various levels of leadership. Over time, she rose to be the party’s national secretary before she was appointed as the BJP president of the state unit in 2014. She was also reelected as the party chief again in 2016.
Soundararajan had contested against the DMK’s Kanimozhi from Thoothukudi in the recent Lok Sabha elections but just like her other three attempts at electoral politics — two assembly elections and one parliamentary election — she ended up being drubbed.
ThePrint has also learnt that the party’s state general secretary K.S. Narendran is the frontrunner to take over from Soundararajan.
BJP is turnig worst. Raj Bhavan is being turned into BJP’s regional office.