Former Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan, who resigned from her gubernatorial posts two days ago, rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Ms. Soundararajan was inducted into the party in the presence of BJP State president K. Annamalai, Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy, L. Murugan and other senior leaders, at the BJP’s State headquarters Kamalayalam in Chennai. She is slated to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Tamil Nadu.
Ms. Tamilisai had joined the BJP in 1999 and served in various capacities, including as its State president for five years. She formally resigned from the party in 2019 to assume office as the Governor of Telangana. Later, she was given additional charge as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
Speaking to reporters after rejoining the BJP, Ms. Tamilisai said “I quit the Governor’s post to become one of the ‘400 MPs’ (an aspirational number set by the BJP for 2024 polls) of the Lok Sabha. As a Governor, I worked with four Chief Ministers and faced many challenges. Being a member of the BJP is what I really want.” She said the BJP gave a lot of importance to women. “The public meetings of Prime Minister Modi and the padayatra of State president K. Annamalai have created a huge impact in Tamil Nadu,” she said.
In response to a query, Ms. Soundararajan also criticised the DMK for its poll promise that said Governors would only be appointed after consultations with State CMs. “Why then, did the the DMK knock on the doors of the Raj Bhavan, when they were in the Opposition,” she asked. She also criticised the Opposition parties over their remarks about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and said: “The Congress in Telangana and the DMK in Tamil Nadu came to power using EVMs. Will they surrender the victories?”
Welcoming her to the party’s fold, Mr. Annamalai said Ms. Soundararajan had sacrificed a comfortable position as a Governor in order to attempt to serve the people.
