On June 4, T.Sumathy alias Thamizhachi Thangapandian of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was elected as the Member of the Parliament in the South Chennai Constituency for a second term.
She cemented her role as the MP by securing 516,628 votes, surpassing Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), her closest competitor, by a margin of 225,945 votes.
The vote counting went on till midnight on the result day; Thamizhachi Thangapandian received the Certificate of Election from the returning officer at 2.30 am. Dr.Tamilisai Soundararajan from BJP and J.Jayavardhan from ADMK secured 2,90,683 and 1,72,491 votes respectively.
Hailing from a renowned political background, Thamizhachi Thangapandian was an English professor, theatre artiste, and writer. She made her political debut in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls contesting from the Chennai South constituency.
After winning the election Thamizhachi Thangapandian took to social media to thank Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, who had been her mentor in the party. She also conveyed her thanks to senior heads of INDIA Bloc, Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK General Secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Health and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian, Mylai Velu, voters, and all the party cadres who had stood by her.
Thamizhachi Thangapandian’s election campaign:
During her election campaign, in a debate session with the members of FOMRRA, she highlighted her familiarity with the local issues and her approachability. “I’m on the field listening to grievances and acting upon them,” she emphasised, as she enlisted her projects: Clearing the Pallikaranai dumpyard / marshes using biomedical processes, organising workshops and medical camps for anaemic women, upskilling women, introducing sustainable menstrual hygiene products, conducting awareness programmes on plastic pollution. “A problem that was not addressed ever, I took it upon myself and tied up 15000 beneficiaries with an organisation in Kerala, to distribute menstrual cups, thus making their life easier. I have always raised my voice in Parliament, keeping in mind the welfare of my constituency. I keep abreast with the happenings in the society. Given a second term, I would complete all the ongoing projects and score more for the women in the constituency.”
Her election manifesto includes the following promises for the constituency:
- ‘One Stop Centre’ for domestic violence against women;
- Foot overbridges, skywalk and escalators at main roads to ease traffic;
- Multi-storied parking system at OMR and ECR roads;
- Elevating the status of Adyar Cancer Institute to an institute of national importance;
- Enabling the differently-abled to enjoy the beauty of Elliot’s beach by constructing a wooden pathway towards the seaside;
- Setting up smart classrooms in schools to improve the intellect of students;
- Maintenance work to be undertaken at dilapidated buildings of the urban Housing Board;
- Conducting grievance meetings every three months to solve issues of the public.
