Lakshmanan R S/O Ramanujam

R. Lakshmanan, born on November 29, 1971, in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, is the current Member of Legislative Assembly representing Villupuram constituency. His political career has been marked by significant party transitions and electoral success. He began his parliamentary career with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), serving as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament representing Tamil Nadu from 2013 to 2019. This six-year tenure in the upper house established him as a notable political figure in Tamil Nadu's political landscape. In a significant political move, Lakshmanan switched allegiance from AIADMK to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 2020, just a year before the crucial state assembly elections. This party switch proved strategic when he contested the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections from Villupuram. He secured a decisive victory by defeating the incumbent AIADMK candidate and former minister C.V. Shanmugam with a margin of 14,868 votes, securing 102,271 votes (50.16% of total votes cast) against Shanmugam's 87,403 votes (42.87%). The voter turnout in the constituency was a healthy 77.80%, indicating strong electoral engagement. His victory was particularly significant as it broke AIADMK's hold on the Villupuram constituency, which the party had controlled since 2011. This electoral success positioned him as a prominent figure in Tamil Nadu's political arena and demonstrated the effectiveness of his party switch strategy. However, limited information is publicly available about his specific development initiatives, legislative contributions, or community work during his tenure as MLA. His affidavit declares his profession as 'Hindustan Unilever Ltd' and educational qualification as 10th pass, with declared assets of approximately Rs. 39.23 lakhs. Voters should note that while Lakshmanan has demonstrated electoral strength and political acumen through his successful party transition and assembly victory, there is limited documented evidence of specific development projects or policy initiatives undertaken during his current term as MLA. His party switch from AIADMK to DMK after serving as their Rajya Sabha MP may be viewed differently by different voter segments - some seeing it as political pragmatism and others as opportunism.