Raja.S

Raja.S, 46, is a Doctorate-holding lawyer contesting from Ponneri (SC) constituency in Tamil Nadu on a Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi ticket. His political career has been marked by dramatic ups and downs. He achieved his peak success in 2011 when he won the Ponneri Assembly seat as an AIADMK candidate with 93,624 votes (57.5%), defeating the DMK candidate by a comfortable margin. However, his political fortunes reversed sharply after he left AIADMK and joined Amma Vodi Maanila Kazhagam (AMMK). In the 2016 Assembly election, contesting from AMMK, Raja's vote share collapsed to just 2,832 votes (1.35%), losing to AIADMK's P. Balaraman who secured 95,979 votes (48.56%). The 2021 election saw an identical performance, with Raja again receiving 2,832 votes (1.35%) while losing to INC's Durai Chandrasekar who won with 94,528 votes (45%). This represents one of the most dramatic electoral declines in Tamil Nadu politics, with his vote share dropping from 57.5% to 1.35% within five years. Raja has declared assets worth Rs. 70.08 lakhs (Rs. 68.28 lakhs immovable, Rs. 1.80 lakhs movable) with liabilities of Rs. 30 lakhs. He has three pending criminal cases registered in Ponneri and Thiruppalaivanam police stations (Case Nos. 260/2010, 120/2016, and 309/2016), though none involve serious IPC charges. Now contesting under the VBA banner, a party founded in 2018 to represent marginalized communities, Raja faces an uphill battle to regain political relevance. Voters should note his one-term legislative experience from 2011-2016, his subsequent electoral decline, and the pending legal cases when evaluating his candidacy.