Meet R Priya, Chennai's First Dalit Woman Mayor And One Of City's Youngest Councillors

CHENNAI: The ruling political party in Chennai Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) named R Priya, 28 years old as the party's mayoral candidate for GCC.

With this the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai will be having the youngest and first-ever Dalit woman holding the post of mayor.

At the beginning of the year 2022, the Tamil Nadu government has issued an order to reserve the post of Mayor for the women candidate from the Scheduled Caste.

On Friday 4 March, the indirect elections will be conducted for the posts of mayor and chairpersons for the GCC (Greater Chennai Corporation) and Priya will be formally elected.

Priya is the clear winner for the post of Mayor as DMK has 153 councillors among the total 200 wards and apart from this, the party's allies consist of already existing 25 councillors in the corporation.

Most notably, Priya will become the third woman as Mayor of the city after the posts were held by Kamakshi Jayaraman and Tara Cherian.

In the recently ended Tamil Nadu municipal elections, Priya became the youngest councillor as the party she comes from has gained victory in the polls. She was elected as the councillor from the municipal ward no. 74.

The party won all the 21 municipal boards with a total of 946 wards in corporations, 4,388 in town panchayats and 2360 in municipalities.

Know About R Priya:

R Priya is a resident of Chennai born in a family with a powerful political background. Her grandfather Chennai Shivam is the former MLA of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party from the Perambur constituency.

Priya has done her graduation with a Masters's degree in Commerce from Madras University before joining politics. She became a recognized personality in her area at such a young age of 28.

The upcoming mayor of Chennai is the daughter of the area co-secretary of the DMK party named R Rajan. Priya is going to be the inspiration for many by becoming the first woman from the Dalit community to hold such a powerful post.

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