Appavu.M

M. Appavu (Muthuvelayudha Perumal Appavu), 74, is a veteran politician from Radhapuram, Tamil Nadu, currently serving as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly since May 2021. With a career spanning nearly three decades, Appavu has won the Radhapuram constituency four times across different party affiliations, demonstrating strong electoral appeal. He began his legislative journey in 1996 with the Tamil Maanila Congress, won as an independent in 2001, and has been with the DMK since 2006, except for the 2011 election when DMK ceded the seat to its INC ally. Appavu's political career has been marked by both triumphs and setbacks. His most notable setback came in 2016 when he lost by a razor-thin margin of just 49 votes—the narrowest losing margin in the state—to AIADMK's I.S. Inbadurai. He challenged the result, alleging improper rejection of postal votes, and was evicted from the counting hall during his protest. He bounced back strongly in 2021, defeating the same opponent by approximately 5,000 votes and was subsequently elected Speaker unopposed, a testament to his standing across party lines. Beyond electoral politics, Appavu has built a reputation as a champion of farmers' rights and water resource protection. He has filed multiple Public Interest Litigations advocating for minimum price controls on agricultural produce to reduce farmer suicides and prevent middlemen exploitation. In 2017, he won a significant Madras High Court order directing the Tamil Nadu government to investigate links between water scarcity and river sand quarrying. He has also campaigned against commercial water extraction by corporations like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola from the Tamirabarani river, arguing that local needs should be prioritized over corporate interests. He introduced drinking water schemes using local rivers, addressing critical water supply issues in his constituency. Voters should know that while Appavu has a clean record with zero criminal cases and has focused on development and public interest issues, there was a minor controversy in 2009 involving an attempt to name a bus stand after DMK leader Karunanidhi's parents, which AIADMK claimed was government-facilitated. The government countered that Appavu personally funded 90% of the project, and the stand was eventually named after K. Kamaraj in 2010. His declared profession as 'Agriculture' contrasts with his decades-long full-time political career, including his current constitutional role as Speaker. With assets of approximately Rs. 2.41 crores and liabilities of Rs. 2.14 crores, his financial profile appears modest for someone holding such high office.