Poongothai Aladi Aruna

Poongothai Aladi Aruna
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 by	P. Vijayalakshmi
Succeeded by	Geetha Jeevan
Minister for Information Technology
	In office; 28 February 2009 – 15 May 2011
Preceded by	M. Karunanidhi
Succeeded by	R. B. Udhaya Kumar
Member of Legislative Assembly
	In office; 25 May 2016 – 6 May 2021
Preceded by	P. G. Rajendran
Succeeded by	P. H. Manoj Pandian
Constituency	Alangulam
	In office; 2006–2011
Preceded by	P. G. Rajendran
Succeeded by	P. G. Rajendran
Constituency	Alangulam
Personal details
Born	28 October 1964 (age 60); Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Political party	DMK
Spouse	V. Balaji
Parent(s)	Aladi Aruna ; Kamala
Occupation	Gynaecologist, 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	37,727	18.54%	New
	NTK	M. Sangeetha Esak	12,519	7.15%	+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]

References

^ Poongothai Aladi Aruna profile
^ 1996 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
^ 2006 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
^ Election to Tamil Nadu assembly
^ "Alangulam Election Result". Retrieved 3 July 2022.
^ "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.
^ 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.
^ Election Commission of India. "2006 Election Statistical Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
^ "Poongothai Aladi Aruna's resignation accepted". The Hindu. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
^ "Poongothai Aladi Aruna sworn in IT Minister". The Hindu. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
^ Scandal
^ Resignation

[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

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