Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has tendered her resignation from the governor post, the Raj Bhavan said on Monday.
Additionally serving as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Tamilisai submitted her resignation to Droupadi Murmu, the President of India. However, the President’s acceptance of her resignation is pending.
Reports suggest that the former BJP president in Tamil Nadu might contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the state.
“The Hon’ble Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Dr.Smt.Tamilisai Soundararajan has tendered her resignation with immediate effect. The resignation has been submitted to the Hon’ble President of India,” Raj Bhavan’s statement read.
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In February, Tamilisai, who previously served as the BJP Tamil Nadu unit president before becoming the governor of Telangana, expressed her interest in contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Puducherry. However, she stated that the decision rested with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“My desire is to be a people’s representative but I will abide by the decision of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” Tamilisai told reporters in Puducherry as her three-year term as lieutenant governor concluded.
Tamilisai expressed a preference for Puducherry, as she considers it her hometown.
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She contested the Puducherry seat in the 2019 elections but faced defeat. Additionally, in 2009, she contested the Chennai (North) seat but was unsuccessful, losing to TKS Elangovan of the DMK.
Furthermore, Tamilisai contested in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections three times – from Radhapuram in 2006, Velachery in 2011, and Virugampakkam in 2016 – losing each time. Her defeats were against the DMK in the first instance and against the BJP’s former allies, the AIADMK, in the latter two.
The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to occur in seven phases: April 19 (first phase), April 26 (second phase), May 7 (third phase), May 13 (fourth phase), May 20 (fifth phase), May 25 (sixth phase), and June 1, 2024 (seventh phase).