Rahul Gandhi found Meenakshi Natarajan promising and made her Secretary of the party in 2008. He fielded her for Parliament elections from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh in 2009, which she won
Published Feb 15, 2025 | 9:44 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 15, 2025 | 9:48 AM
Meenakshi Natarajan. (X)
Synopsis: Meenakshi Natarajan has been appointed AICC in-charge for Telangana, replacing Deepa Das Munshi, who will focus solely on Kerala. Natarajan, a former MP, was praised by TPCC President B Mahesh Kumar Goud for her honesty and leadership. She has a history with the party, having led NSUI and won a 2009 parliamentary seat in Mandsaur.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed former MP and senior party leader Meenakshi Natarajan as the new in-charge for Telangana.
Deepa Das Munshi, who was in charge of both Telangana and Kerala, will now be relieved of her Telangana responsibilities. She will be responsible solely for Kerala, which is going for Assembly elections next year.
AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal announced in an official communiqué late Friday, 14 February.
Deepa Das Munshi took over as in-charge of Telangana after the Congress won the Assembly elections in December 2023. Her predecessor was Manickrao Thakre.
The party’s top brass, Rahul Gandhi, found Meenakshi Natarajan promising and made her Secretary of the party in 2008. He fielded her for Parliament elections from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh in 2009, which she won effortlessly, trouncing senior BJP leader Lakshminarayan Pandey, who had not faced defeat since 1971.
She lost the subsequent elections in 2014 and 2019 from the same constituency. She started her career in the party with NSUI and became its president.
As soon as the announcement of her appointment as Telangana in-charge was made, TPCC President B Mahesh Kumar Goud welcomed the development. He described her as an honest and down-to-earth leader, stating, “She is a role model for all others.”
He recalled his stint as President of the NSUI for the combined Andhra Pradesh unit in 1999-2000 when Natarajan was the NSUI national president. “I consider it a great honour to have worked during her tenure as NSUI president,” he said, adding that she had led a padayatra in Telangana from Bhoodan Pochampally to inspire party workers.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
