Former Tamil Nadu BJP Chief Tamilisai Soundararajan was sworn in as the Governor of Telangana on Sunday morning at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. She took charge in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Ministers D Jayakumar and Thangamani.
Tamilisai was announced to be Telangana’s next Governor would on September 1, following which she stepped down from her role as TN BJP Chief. This appointment came along with the change of Governors in three other states — Kerala, Maharashtra and Himachal.
Tamilisai served in the Tamil Nadu BJP unit in various capacities, starting from the South Chennai District Medical Wing Secretary in 1999.
She was appointed as the chief of TN BJP in August 2014. A doctor by profession, Tamilisai is the daughter of Congress leader Kumari Ananthan and the niece of Congress MP H Vasanthakumar. Tamilisai had been one of the BJP's star campaigners during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, leading to her appointment as BJP chief. She was the state BJP's first woman president.
Reacting to her appointment, Tamilisai told TV Channel Puthiya Thalamurai: “I would like to thank god and the ruler of the country. That BJP recognises hard work has been proven once again by our Prime Minister Modi and party President Amit Shah. Except for putting in my hard work, I have not done anything else for the party. And this is proven by the 43 lakh members who have joined the party in TN recently. Irrespective of my age, the leaders have given me this opportunity and I dedicate this success to everyone in the party, all party members, the people of TN and my parents."
Tamilisai has unsuccessfully contested in two Assembly Elections and two Parliamentary Elections in the past. With her appointment as Telangana Governor, the floor is now thrown open for the next State BJP President.
Outgoing Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan was the common Governor for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, after the state's bifurcation in.2014. He had been serving as the Governor of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh since 2009.
In July this year, he became the Governor of Telangana after Biswa Bhusan Harichandan took charge as the Governor for AP.
A retired IPS officer, Narasimhan played a role in solving inter-state issues after bifurcation. He also previously served as the Governor of Chhattisgarh in 2007 after serving as the director of the Intelligence Bureau.