Kadambur C. Raju (born 20 August 1959) is an Indian politician and the member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Kovilpatti constituency. He represents the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party.
Kadambur C. Raju | |
|---|---|
| Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 23 May 2011 | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Preceded by | L. Radhakrishnan |
| Constituency | Kovilpatti |
| Minister of Information and Publicity | |
| In office 23 May 2016 – 6 May 2021 | |
| Chief Minister | |
| Preceded by | K. T. Rajenthra Bhalaji |
| Succeeded by | M. P. Saminathan |
| Constituency | Kovilpatti |
| Organization Secretary of Thoothukudi North District | |
| Assumed office 2 March 2019 | |
| Coordinator | O. Panneerselvam |
| Joint Coordinator | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 August 1959 K. Chidambarapuram, Madras State, India (present-day Tamil Nadu) |
| Political party | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Thamirabarani Illam 15, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Education | D.T.Ed., PUC |
| Profession |
|
Political career
editRaju won the Kovilpatti seat in the 14th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in the 2011 elections.[1] He was initially deselected from contesting the seat in the 2016 elections, with then AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa preferring to let K. Ramanujam Ganesh stand. However, when it was understood that the experienced Vaiko was to stand there for the People's Welfare Front, Jayalalithaa chose to reinstate Raju because he was a more potent electoral force than Ganesh. A few days later, Vaiko announced that he would not contest the constituency.[2] Raju won the seat with 428 more votes than his nearest rival.[3]
Jayalalithaa appointed Raju as Minister for Information and Publicity in May 2016. This was his first cabinet post.[4] Soon after Jayalalithaa died in December 2016, and despite being in the cabinet, Raju rebelled against then Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. He demanded that V. K. Sasikala should become Chief Minister, arguing that the post and that of party general secretary, which Sasikala held, had always been combined since the party's foundation by M. G. Ramachandran.[5] Although Sasikala did become party leader in early February, and Panneerselvam resigned as Chief Minister, she was not formally appointed to the office at the time of her conviction for criminal offences that effectively thwarted her ambitions.[6][7]
In April 2017 he was one of three AIADMK ministers against whom police filed a First Information Report after allegations of obstructing officials who were conducting raids related to income tax. He was alleged to have done so at the house of Sarathkumar, the president of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi.[8] He recently attended a conference conducted by the Kamma Naidu caste organization in which he was born. [9]
Personal life
editRaju was born on 20 August 1959 in Kovilpatti.[10] He has a D.T.Ed. degree and took early retirement from his job as a teacher. He is married and he has two children.[11]
References
edit- ^ "List of MLAs from Tamil Nadu 2011" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012.
- ^ "Complex scene". Frontline. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "Kovilpatti (Tamil Nadu) Election Results 2016". Infobase. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "Jayalalithaa and her 28-member Cabinet to be sworn in on May 23". The Hindu. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "3 TN ministers want CM to make way for Sasikala". The Asian Age. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "Governor accepts CMs resignation". Business Line. The Hindu. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ Majumdar, Ushinor. "What The SC Said About Jayalalithaa: She Was The Source Of Funds For Shell Companies". Outlook India. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ Madhav, Pramod (14 April 2017). "FIRs against 3 AIADMK ministers for obstructing I-T raids". Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "சாதிச் சங்க மாநாட்டில் அமைச்சர் பங்கேற்பு : அமைச்சர் மீது அதிமுக எம்.எல்.ஏ குற்றச்சாட்டு". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
- ^ "List of Kamma Ministers in Tamilnadu Assembly (Past and Present)"., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM5X4-yOHiA
- ^ "Thiru. Kadambur Raju (AIADMK)". Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 4 May 2017.