Vanathi Srinivasan

Vanathi Srinivasan (/ʋaːnati/) (born 6 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a lawyer from Tamil Nadu.^[1] She has practiced law in Madras High Court since 1993.^[2] She is a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Coimbatore South Assembly constituency.^[3] She currently serves as national president of the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She is member of central election committee of party since 2022.^[4][5]

Vanathi Srinivasan
Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2021
Preceded by	Amman K. Arjunan
Constituency	Coimbatore South
President of the BJP Mahila Morcha
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 October 2020
President	Jagat Prakash Nadda
Preceded by	Vijaya Rahatkar
Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Tamil Nadu
In office 3 July 2020 – 28 October 2020
President	L. Murugan
General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Tamil Nadu
In office 16 August 2014 – 3 July 2020
President	Tamilisai Soundararajan L. Murugan
Personal details
Born	Vanathi Kandaswamy (1970-06-06) 6 June 1970 (age 54) Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Su Srinivasan
Children	2
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Alma mater	Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai, University of Madras
Profession	Politician, lawyer
Website	vanathisrinivasan.com

Personal life and education

Srinivasan was born to Kandasamy and Poovathal in Uliyampalayam Village near Thondamuthur block in Coimbatore. She is the eldest in her family and she has a brother, Shiva Kumar. She did her schooling at Thondamuthur Higher Secondary School. Later, she did her UG program in chemistry from PSG College of Arts and Science. She graduated from Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai in 1993 and completed her master's degree in law from the University of Madras in the branch of International Constitution in 1995.^[6] She married Srinivasan and they have two sons.^[7]

Career

Vanathi is a lawyer by profession and has been practicing law in Chennai High Court for over two decades.^[8] She started her professional career in 1993, working for B. S. Gnanadesikan, Senior Advocate who was former President, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. She was also a standing counsel for Southern Railway and Union Government. She was a former state secretary of BJP Tamil Nadu and also served as board member of Central Board of Film Certification.^[9][10] She contested 2011 and 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election as a BJP candidate.

Political career

Srinivasan has been a member of BJP since 1993 and held various positions in the party since 1999.^[11] She was appointed a State Secretary of the BJP Tamil Nadu in 2013 and continued until 2014 when she was appointed the General Secretary of the BJP Tamil Nadu, a post she continued til June 2020. Later, she was elevated as the state vice president of the state unit.^[12] On 28 October 2020, Bharatiya Janata Party National President Jagat Prakash Nadda appointed her as the National President of the BJP Mahila Morcha.^[13][14][15] She was added into Central Election Committee of Bharatiya Janata Party in 2022.^[4][5]

She was first elected as MLA representing the Bharatiya Janata Party, as part of an alliance, and won the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election from Coimbatore South constituency. She defeated actor Kamal Haasan of Makkal Needhi Maiam.^[16] Earlier in 2016, she secured 33,113 votes contesting from the same seat (2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election).^[17]

Elections contested

Elections	Constituency	Party	Result	Margin	% Votes	Opposition Candidate	Opposition Party	% votes
2011 Tamil Nadu assembly election	Mylapore	BJP	Lost	73,152	4.84%	Rajalakshmi R	ADMK	56.03%
2016 Tamil Nadu assembly election	Coimbatore South	BJP	Lost	26,675	21.57%	Amman K. Arjunan	ADMK	38.94%
2021 Tamil Nadu assembly election	Coimbatore South	BJP	Won	1,728	34.38%	Kamal Haasan	MNM	33.26%

Controversy

Disproportionate asset allegation

Srinivasan was involved in a controversy after raids on a company named Zylog Systems, where she holds shares and her brother was a vice president. She denied any involvement with the company and stated that there was no proof to back up the allegations.^[18][19]

Legal cases

The AIADMK filed criminal cases of assault on Vanathi Srinivasan and six other members including the Hindu Munnani district President T. Guna in Coimbatore during the state assembly campaigns of 2016. The Madras High court granted her an anticipatory bail for the case in August 2016.^[20]

Tamil Nadu bifurcation proposal

Vanathi supports the idea of bifurcating Tamil Nadu to create a separate Kongu Nadu union territory.^[21][22][23]

Social activism

She was the State Organiser for Sister Nivedita 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations.^[24] She also initiated water conservation projects in Coimbatore to protect the local water bodies.^[25]

References

1. Menon, Jaya (31 May 2019). "BJP looks for new party chief in Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
2. "Vanathi Srinivasan elevated as BJP women's wing president". The New Indian Express. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
3. "Tamil Nadu: Kamal Haasan Loses to BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan in Coimbatore South". 3 May 2021.
4. Hebbar, Nistula (17 August 2022). "Nadda drops Gadkari, brings in Yediyurappa in BJP rejig". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
5. "Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan dropped from BJP's parliamentary board". The Indian Express. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
6. "Vanathi Srinivasan became Tamil Nadu's 1st MLA to earn ISO certified tag for her office". www.theprint.in. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
7. "Vanathi Srinivasan(Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- COIMBATORE SOUTH(COIMBATORE) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
8. "TN BJP leader hosts chat shows on Facebook". The Hindu. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
9. Vanathi Srinivasan Election Affidavit
10. "Actor Surya held, out on bail". Deccan Herald. 24 August 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
11. "Vanathi Srinivasan: Party Veteran And BJP's Hope For Coimbatore South". NDTV.com. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
12. "Office bearers announced for BJP Tamil Nadu, V.P. Duraisamy, Vanathi Srinivasan named State vice presidents". The Hindu. 3 July 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
13. "Vanathi Srinivasan Appointed Chief Of BJP Mahila Morcha". NDTV.com. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
14. Rao, Madhu (28 October 2020). "Vanathi Srinivasan appointed BJP Mahila Morcha chief". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
15. "Vanathi Srinivasan Appointed Chief of BJP Mahila Morcha". All India Legal Forum. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
16. "BJP announces candidates for Tamil Nadu election, Khushbu Sundar to contest from Chennai".
17. Madhavan, Karthik (12 September 2016). "In Coimbatore, BJP performs better than DMDK-PWF-TMC". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
18. Mathi (22 May 2017). "என்னைப் பற்றி வதந்தி பரப்பும் விஷமி ... ஜாக்கிரதை.. வானதி சீனிவாசன் போட்டு தாக்குவது யாரை?". tamil.oneindia.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 18 May 2021.
19. "ED takes action against Zylog systems - Does it spell trouble for BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan?". simplicity.in. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
20. Subramani, A. (8 August 2016). "Madras HC grants anticipatory bail to BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
21. "In Tamil Nadu, murmurs of state bifurcation provoke a backlash". Hindustan Times. 19 July 2021.
22. "அப்போதே தனியாகத்தான் இருந்திருக்கிறது கொங்கு நாடு... வானதி சீனிவாசன் தகவலால் பரபரப்பு..!".
23. "DMK, Left slam Tamil Nadu BJP for allegedly stoking 'Kongu Nadu' controversy".
24. "Sister Nivedita ratha yatra flagged off". The Hindu. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
25. "Uliyampalayam pond fills up". The Hindu. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2018.