Priya Rajan, the 28-year-old woman who will be Chennai’s first Dalit mayor

*Paromita Das 

Priya Rajan, 28, was elected as Chennai’s first Dalit woman mayor.

Succeeding its victory in the recently held urban local body election, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) selected Rajan as the party’s candidate for the position of Chennai mayor. The 28-year-old councilor is Chennai’s youngest and third female mayor.

Gagandeep Singh Bedi, GCC commissioner, delivered the oath of office.

Priya, the city’s first Dalit woman mayor, was elected as a councilor in ward 74 Mangalapuram in the recently concluded civic body elections.

After an 11-year gap, the mayor was sworn into the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) for the first time.

The position of Chennai mayor is significant in Tamil Nadu politics because it has previously been held by Chief Minister M K Stalin and Health Minister Ma Subramanian.

The DMK’s landslide victory in urban local body elections.

The ruling DMK and its allies won almost two-thirds of the 12,800+ ward member posts and all 21 municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu in urban civic elections.

The DMK secured majorities in all 21 municipal corporations, including the Greater Chennai Corporation, as well as in the majority of the 138 municipalities and 490 town panchayats.

Following the results, DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin stated that the victory demonstrates the people’s support for the ‘Dravidian Model’ of administration and that he will work hard to maintain the people’s trust in him.