Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan

Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, 64, is a physician-turned-politician who has become one of the BJP's most prominent faces in Tamil Nadu despite never winning an election. Born on June 2, 1961, in Kaliyakkavilai, Kanyakumari district, she comes from a politically influential family — her father Kumari Ananthan was a senior Congress leader and former MP. She completed her MBBS from Madras Medical College, pursued post-graduation in obstetrics and gynecology from Dr. MGR Medical University, and received advanced training in sonology and fetal therapy in Canada. She is married to nephrologist P. Soundararajan and has two daughters, both doctors. Her political career began in 1999 as South Chennai District Medical Wing Secretary of the BJP, steadily rising through the ranks to become Tamil Nadu BJP President (2014-2019), National Secretary, and eventually Governor of Telangana (2019-2024) with additional charge as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (2021-2024). In March 2024, she resigned from these constitutional positions to rejoin active politics. Her electoral record, however, tells a different story: she has contested and lost seven elections since 2006, including Lok Sabha races from Chennai North (2009, 3.54% votes), Thoothukkudi (2019, 21.77% votes), and Chennai South (2024, 26.43% votes), as well as Assembly elections from Radhapuram (2006), Velachery (2011), and Virugampakkam (2016). Dr. Tamilisai is now contesting from Mylapore in the 2026 Assembly elections, campaigning on promises of heritage revival and civic infrastructure improvements. She has been vocal in criticizing the DMK government, alleging corruption involving over 11 ministers and accusing them of failing to deliver development. A past controversy involved a 2018 FIR filed against a student for raising anti-BJP slogans in her presence, which the Madras High Court later quashed as trivial. Voters should note her extensive administrative experience as Governor but also her consistent electoral defeats, making this her eighth attempt to secure a legislative seat.