KANNIYAKUMARI: Congress legislator S Rajesh Kumar, who was sworn in as a minister in the TVK-led government on Thursday, represents the Killiyoor Assembly constituency where both Dravidian parties could not secure a victory for decades. The constituency was won by the Congress this time too even in the TVK wave. Rajesh Kumar is the first MLA from the Killiyoor constituency to become a state minister.
Since the merger of Kanniyakumari district with the erstwhile Madras state (now Tamil Nadu) in 1956, Congress emerged winner here nine times, including three consecutive times by the newly inducted Minister S Rajesh Kumar who will be handling the Tourism portfolio. The Congress has won five consecutive times since the 2006 Assembly election with Rajesh Kumar winning in 2016, 2021, and 2026 on a Congress ticket.
The two Dravidian majors - DMK and AIADMK - and the national ruling party, BJP, have not tasted victory in Killiyoor so far though they had contested. The seat, which borders Kerala on the west coast, remains a bastion of the Congress in Tamil Nadu.
Speaking over phone after taking charge on Thursday, Rajesh Kumar said he would take efforts to develop tourism in Kanniyakumari district. He added that the people of the Killiyoor constituency always elected people who uphold secular ideology.
In the recent election, Rajesh Kumar managed to win with a margin of 1,311 votes over TVK’s S Sabin. He secured 66,434 votes, Sabin 65,123 votes, while TMC (M) candidate J Nivin Simon of the NDA managed just 31,070 votes.
