In Hyderabad, the Telangana Governor and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan resigned from her esteemed position on Monday. It’s speculated that she intends to vie for a seat in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu under the banner of the BJP.
A communication from Raj Bhavan states, “The Hon’ble Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan, has submitted her resignation with immediate effect. The formal resignation has been tendered to the Hon’ble President of India.”
Sources suggest that the former Tamil Nadu BJP President may throw her hat into the ring for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections from Tuticorin, possibly facing off against Kanimozhi, as she did in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Raj Bhavan has also corroborated her resignation from the position of Puducherry’s Lieutenant Governor in an official statement. She dispatched her resignation missive to President Droupadi Murmu on Monday.
At 62 years old, Soundararajan assumed office as the second Governor of the then newly established state of Telangana in November 2019. She later assumed the additional responsibility of Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry in February 2021.
While it’s unusual for a Governor to resign and seek election, precedent exists. In 2019, Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan also stepped down, mirroring Soundararajan’s move. He was fielded as a candidate by the BJP in Thiruvananthapuram, pitted against Shashi Tharoor.