Poongothai Aladi Aruna
Poongothai Aladi Aruna at the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai
Minister for Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme
In office
13 May 2006 – 20 May 2008
Preceded byP. Vijayalakshmi
Succeeded byGeetha Jeevan
Minister for Information Technology
In office
28 February 2009 – 15 May 2011
Preceded byM. Karunanidhi
Succeeded byR. B. Udhaya Kumar
Member of Legislative Assembly
In office
25 May 2016 – 6 May 2021
Preceded byP. G. Rajendran
Succeeded byP. H. Manoj Pandian
ConstituencyAlangulam
In office
2006–2011
Preceded byP. G. Rajendran
Succeeded byP. G. Rajendran
ConstituencyAlangulam
Personal details
Born (1964-10-28) 28 October 1964
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Political partyDMK
SpouseV. Balaji
Parent(s)Aladi Aruna
Kamala
OccupationGynaecologist, politician
As of 23 February, 2018

Poongothai Aladi Aruna is an Indian politician and former Information and Technology minister of Tamil Nadu under DMK ruling in 2006–2011. In 2016 Tamil Nadu assembly election she contested from Alangulam (State Assembly Constituency) and won the election with 88891 votes.

Personal life

She is the daughter of the late DMK minister Aladi Aruna. She was born in Chennai on 28 October 1964. She is a gynaecologist by profession and received part of her education in London.[1] She married Balaji Venugopal in the late 1980s. They have two daughters, Samantha and Kavya.

Electoral performance

She was given a ticket to contest elections after her father's death. She was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Alangulam constituency in 2006 elections.[2][3] She later went on to become Social Welfare minister in the then Tamil Nadu government.[4]

2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election : Alangulam[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AIADMK P. H. Manoj Pandian 74,153 36.44% -7.08
DMK Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna 70,614 34.70% -11.28
Independent A. Hari Nadar 5,727 6.54% New
NTK M. Sangeetha Esak 1,519 5.15% +4.86
DMDK Rajendranathan 2,816 1.38% -2.64
NOTA NOTA 1,786 0.88% -0.2
MNM S. Selvakumar 1,454 0.71% New
PT A. Udhayakumar 1,105 0.54% New
Margin of victory 3,539 1.74% -0.72%
Turnout 203,478 78.13% -0.91%
Rejected ballots 6 0.00%
Registered electors 260,429
AIADMK gain from DMK Swing -9.54%
2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election : Alangulam[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DMK Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna 88,891 45.98% -1.13
AIADMK Hepzi Karthikeyan 84,137 43.52% -3.77
DMDK Rajendranath 7,784 4.03% New
BJP S. V. Anburaj 4,660 2.41% +0.8
NTK R . Vasanthi Ramalingam 2,495 1.29% New
NOTA NOTA 2,089 1.08% New
Margin of victory 4,754 2.46% 2.28%
Turnout 193,326 79.04% -1.98%
Registered electors 244,588
DMK gain from AIADMK Swing -1.31%
2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election : Alangulam[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AIADMK P. G. Rajendran 78,098 47.29% +6.31
DMK Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna 77,799 47.11% +1.07
BJP S. Sudalaiyandi 2,664 1.61% +0.01
BSP E. Murugesan 1,234 0.75% -4.15
Independent N. Rajendran 1,099 0.67% New
Independent S. Thanga Raja 1,058 0.64% New
Independent R. Ramalingam 924 0.56% New
Margin of victory 299 0.18% -4.88%
Turnout 165,134 81.02% 7.23%
Registered electors 203,826
AIADMK gain from DMK Swing 1.25%
2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election : Alangulam[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DMK Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna 62,299 46.05% +0.54
AIADMK M. Pandiaraj 55,454 40.99% -7.96
BSP M. Sivakumar 6,620 4.89% New
AIFB P. Samynathan 4,664 3.45% New
DMDK Muthu Kumarasamy @ K. Durai 2,751 2.03% New
BJP M. Arulselvan 2,170 1.60% New
Independent A. Meeran 1,336 0.99% New
Margin of victory 6,845 5.06% 1.62%
Turnout 135,294 73.79% 8.42%
Registered electors 183,349
DMK gain from AIADMK Swing -2.90%

Social Welfare Minister

During her tenure as the Social Welfare Minister, Chief Minister Kalaignar M Karunanidhi announced the Two Egg scheme in the midday meals and now it is three times a day. The physically challenged people were given high priority during this period to the extent of a complete survey, National ID Card, Government benefits and motorised vehicles. She had submitted her resignation on 14 May 2008 following a controversy over her telephone conversation with the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption S.K. Upadhyay about a corruption case involving her relative.[9]

IT Minister

On 28 February 2009 Poongathai Aladi Aruna was reinstated as Minister for Information Technology to the Government of Tamil Nadu. This is first time that Tamil Nadu Govt. has a separate minister for Information Technology.[10]

Scandal

In an audio CD released by Janata party president Subramanian Swamy on 13 May 2008, Poongothai is pleading with the Director of Vigilance and Anti-corruption, SK Upadhyay to be soft on her relative, Jawahar. Jawahar is an electrical engineer in the Tamil Nadu electricity board and was caught accepting bribes. She later confirmed that the voice in that tape is really hers[11] and resigned from office accepting responsibility.[12]

Nira Radia Tapes

She has been involved in Nira Radia tapes published by Outlook magazine. The conversation has Niira Radia explaining to Poongothai Aladi Aruna, why Kanimozhi has made a mistake by refusing the MoS portfolio and how she now must remain friends with Azhagiri. "She should have taken the MoS, but she had her own views. Kani must learn to look after herself. This is politics and it is very cut throat, nobody is your friend, nobody is your enemy. I don’t know whether she feels that she's made a mistake and recognises it. Please, you must talk to her and tell her to be friend with Azhagiri. Trust me, it’s very important for them to remains friends."[13]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poongothai Aladi Aruna.
  1. ↑ Poongothai Aladi Aruna profile
  2. ↑ 1996 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  3. ↑ 2006 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  4. ↑ Election to Tamil Nadu assembly
  5. ↑ "Alangulam Election Result". Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Assembly wise Candidate Valid Votes count 2016, Tamil Nadu" (PDF). www.elections.tn.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. ↑ Detailes Result 2011, Aseembly Election Tamil Nadu (PDF). Election Commission of Tamil Nadu (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Election Commission of India. "2006 Election Statistical Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
  9. ↑ "Poongothai Aladi Aruna's resignation accepted". The Hindu. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  10. ↑ "Poongothai Aladi Aruna sworn in IT Minister". The Hindu. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Scandal
  12. ↑ Resignation
  13. ↑ "11-188819-0-12-20090529-144000".
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