Harikrishnan Nadar Ananthakrishnan (19 March 1933 – 9 April 2025), popularly known as Kumari Ananthan, was an Indian politician who was leader of the

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) is the wing of Indian National Congress serving in Tamil Nadu. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for loca ...

. He was Perumthalivar Kamarajar awardee of the year in 2021.

Member of Parliament

Ananthan was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from Nagercoil constituency as an

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

candidate in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

election, but was defeated in the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

elections. He also served as the president of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

Member of Legislative Assembly

Ananthan was a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

. He floated a new party called " Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress" breaking from Janatha party and had an alliance with AIDMK in the 1980 by election contesting 10 seats and winning 6 of them. He was elected to the

Tamil Nadu legislative assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...

as a Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress candidate from Thiruvottiyur constituency in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

election from Radhapuram constituency in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

election. He was elected as an

candidate from Sathankulam constituency in the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

elections.

Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress

Ananthan floated Gandhi Kamaraj National Congress, a new political party breaking away from Congress. It started during 1977 elections, it merged with the

later.

Thondar Congress

Ananthan floated Thondar Congress, a new political party breaking away from Congress. He began the party as he said he was frustrated by National Congress leaders' neglect of the Tamil Nadu state party unit and workers. Having failed to make any progress in elections, it merged with the

in 2001.

Personal life and death

Ananthan's youngest brother H. Vasanthakumar was an entrepreneur and a politician. His daughter is physician-turned-politician Tamilisai Soundararajan who has been appointed Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Ananthan died in Chennai on 9 April 2025, at the age of 92.Kumari Ananthan, former Tamil Nadu Congress chief, dies at 93
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ananthan, Kumari 1933 births 2025 deaths India MPs 1977–1979 Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Politicians from Kanyakumari district Tamil Nadu MLAs 1985–1989 Tamil Nadu MLAs 1991–1996 Janata Party politicians Presidents of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee