Who is Tiruchi Siva, the INDIA bloc’s frontrunner for Vice President polls?
As hectic parleys are underway among the Opposition INDIA bloc leaders to find a joint candidate for the Vice President election, the name of a Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga (DMK) MP has emerged as the frontrunner.
The name of Tiruchi Siva, a Rajya Sabha MP, started doing the rounds after a meeting of the Opposition leaders at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday.
Siva, a Rajya Sabha MP, however, refused to comment, saying his leadership will take a call on the issue. "I have no idea. Only leaders will decide that. I am not the person to tell that. My leaders are discussing," he told ANI news agency.
If Siva’s name was finalised, it would be a tactical move by the Opposition as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has already announced C.P. Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, as its candidate.
According to reports, the DMK has proposed the name of Siva to counter the strategic move by the BJP, which aims to expand its vote base in Tamil Nadu by consolidating the Gounder community votes in the Kongu region, ahead of next year’s assembly elections.
The name of a former ISRO scientist from Tamil Nadu is also doing the rounds as a probable candidate of the INDIA bloc.
Who is Tiruchi Siva?
Hailing from Tiruchirappalli, Siva began his political career through the student wing of the DMK and gradually rose through the ranks. He served as the deputy secretary of DMK Youth Wing between 1982 and 1992 and later as its secretary between 1992 and 2007.
He was first elected as an MP to the Lok Sabha from Pudukkottai in 1996.
Since 2000, Siva has been representing Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha. He introduced the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill in the upper house on April 24, 2015. This was the first private member's bill to be passed by any house of the parliament in 36 years.
After his renomination to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, Siva became the first DMK MP to serve a fourth term in the upper house.
Known for his calm and composed demeanour, Siva’s intervention in social issues and minority rights has been widely appreciated.
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