FIle photo of DMK leader and Nilgiri Constituency MP A Raja
Credit: PTI Photo
Political Party: DMK
Parliamentary Constituency: Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu
Andimuthu Raja’s USP (unique selling proposition) is his sharp tongue that has earned him bouquets and brickbats in equal measure.
A deep-rooted ideological flag-bearer of the DMK and an active propagandist of social reformer E V R Periyar, Raja has emerged as the party’s most prominent Dalit face.
The blue-eyed boy of late M Karunanidhi, Raja cut his political teeth in the DMK’s student wing and made his Parliament debut at a young age of 33 from his native Perambalur constituency.
He hit a jackpot in his very first tenure as he was made a Union minister of state in the United Front (UF) government. A minister under governments led by A B Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, Raja was in the dock for six years for his alleged role in the 2G scam as telecom minister in the UPA-I until he was exonerated of all charges in 2017. After having won thrice from Perambalur, Raja in 2009 shifted to Nilgiris, from where he is contesting for the fourth time.
A fiery speaker and a known basher of Hindu scriptures, the six-time MP has put the DMK on the defensive more than once through his controversial remarks on Sanatana Dharma, caste system, and the scope for a separate identity for Tamil Nadu, among others.