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M. Appavu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Tamil name, there is no surname or family name. The name Muthuvelayudha Perumal is a patronym, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Appavu.

M. Appavu
14th Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office
12 May 2021 – 10 May 2026[1]
Governor
P. Ramachandran
M. K. Stalin
Deputy Speaker
K. Pitchandi
Preceded byP. Dhanapal
Succeeded byJ. C. D. Prabhakar
ConstituencyRadhapuram
Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office
11 May 2021 – 4 May 2026
Preceded byI. S. Inbadurai
Succeeded byDr. Sathish Christopher
ConstituencyRadhapuram
In office
10 May 1996 — 14 May 2011
Preceded byRamani Nallathambi
Succeeded byS. Michael Rayappan
ConstituencyRadhapuram
Personal details
Born (1952-01-20) 20 January 1952 (age 74)
Tirunelveli, Madras State, India
PartyDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (2006-Present)
Other party
Tamil Maanila Congress (1996-2001)
Independent (2001-2006)
Janata Dal (United) (2004)
SpouseVijaya
Children3 (2 sons and 1 daughter)
ParentMuthuvelayudha Perumal
Profession
  • Teacher
  • Politician

Muthuvelayudha Perumal Appavu, better known as M. Appavu, is an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu. He is the former speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He has contested and won from the Radhapuram constituency four times.[2]

Political career

[edit]

Appavu has been described by The Hindu as a regional "heavyweight" of the Indian National Congress (INC) who joined a splinter group, then stood for election as an independent during a period of intra-party troubles, and eventually transferred his allegiance to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).[3] He has been elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) candidate from Radhapuram in the 1996 election,[4] as an independent candidate in 2001[5] and as a DMK candidate in 2006.[6]

The Radhapuram constituency was not contested by the DMK in the 2011 elections because they entered into an alliance with the INC.[7] In the 2016 elections, Appavu again contested the seat as a DMK candidate. In a surprise result, he lost by 49 votes to I. S. Inbadurai of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).[8] This was the narrowest losing margin in the state[9] and he appealed against the outcome, arguing amongst other things that the Returning Officer had improperly rejected some postal votes.[10] He had staged a protest regarding the matter at the time of the count, which led to him being evicted from the building.[11]

He contested the 2021 assembly election from Radhapuram constituency as a DMK candidate and won with a margin of about 5000 votes.[12]

In May 2021, he was elected unopposed as the speaker of the 16th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.[13]

He contested the 2026 assembly election from Radhapuram constituency as a DMK candidate and lost with a margin of about 12000 votes to TVK candidate Sathish Christopher.[14][15]

Campaigning

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Appavu's campaigning for farmers' rights has led him to file Public Interest Litigation papers on several occasions.[10] In 2013, he spoke in court of the need to impose minimum price controls on agricultural produce in order to reduce the alleged incidence of suicide among farmers and to prevent profiteering by middlemen. He also wanted an improved agricultural insurance scheme to ward against the effects of crop losses that occurred as a consequence of natural events.[16]

Appavu has also been associated with matters relating to water supplies and was responsible for the introduction of drinking water schemes that use the Ponnankurichi and Tamirabarani rivers.[3] In 2017, he won an order at the Madras High Court that the Government of Tamil Nadu should comply with the court's instructions of 2002 to investigate the relationship between incidences of water scarcity and the practice of river sand quarrying for construction purposes.[17] At the same time, he was campaigning against water extraction from the Tamirabarani river by businesses associated with PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. He argued that the government was preferring the needs of the businesses over those of the population in area where water was scarce. He said that while other businesses that took more water were justified in doing so, the soft drinks businesses were exploitative because they were "commodifying water by fetching it for a minuscule price and selling it later for an astronomically higher price".[18]

There was some controversy in 2009 when there was an attempt to name a bus-stand in Radhapuram after the parents of DMK leader, Karunanidhi, and to erect statues commemorating them. The AIADMK claimed that the DMK-led government was facilitating the idea but the government said that the project was led by Appavu and 90 per cent funded by him.[19] After much back-and-forth disputation, the stand was eventually named in honour of K. Kamaraj in 2010.[20]

Electoral history

[edit]
Year Constituency Party Votes % Opponent Opponent Party Opponent Votes % Result Margin %
1996[21] Radhapuram TMC(M) 45,808 46.60 S. K. Chandrasekaran INC 16,862 17.15 Won 28,946 29.45
2001[22] Radhapuram Independent 44,619 45.40 S. Jothi PMK 26,338 26.80 Won 18,281 18.60
2006[23] Radhapuram DMK 49,249 43.36 L. Gnanapunitha AIADMK 38,552 33.94 Won 10,697 9.42
2016[24] Radhapuram DMK 69,541 (Initial declaration) 40.59 I. S. Inbadurai AIADMK 69,590 (Initial declaration) 40.62 Won
Declared winner on June 3, 2026, by Madras High Court. Initial ECI result annulled.[25][26] 		109 (Revised margin)
-49 (Initial margin) 		0.06
2021[27] Radhapuram DMK 82,331 44.17 I. S. Inbadurai AIADMK 76,406 40.99 Won 5,925 3.18
2026[28] Radhapuram DMK 57,634 28.83 Dr. Sathish Christopher TVK 69,947 34.99 Lost 12,313 6.16

References

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  1. ^ Vacation of Speaker of the Sixteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (PDF), Government of Tamil Nadu, 10 May 2026, retrieved 19 May 2026
  2. ^ "Newspaper report". The Hindu. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b Sudhakar, P. (25 April 2016). "Alliance may turn favourable for DMK in Radhapuram". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1996 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 7. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 2001 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 10. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 2006 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 10. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  7. ^ "DMK, Cong finalise constituencies for TN polls". Rediff. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. ^ "DMK, allies make a comeback in Tirunelveli district". The Hindu. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Karunanidhi clocks highest victory margin : PTI feed". India Today. PTI. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  10. ^ a b "DMK nominee challenges AIADMK candidate's election". Business Standard. PTI. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Radhapuram issue: Ballot units shifted". Indian24 News. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Election Commission website". eci.gov.in. 26 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Newspaper report". DT Next. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election Result 2026 - Radhapuram". Election Commission of India. 4 May 2026. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  15. ^ "Radhapuram election results 2026: TVK's Dr. Sathish Christopher wins by 12,313 votes". The Times of India. 4 May 2026. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  16. ^ Subramani, A. (19 September 2013). "Ex-MLA surprises high court lawyers, argues case in Tamil". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  17. ^ "HC directs TN govt to consider MLA's ban representation to river sand mining". The Deccan Chronicle. PTI. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Will file review petition in Tamirabarani case: Appavu". The Hindu. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  19. ^ "No order to unveil statues, name bus stand after my parents:M Karunanidhi". Deccan Herald. PTI. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Wait over, Congress activists celebrate". The New Indian Express. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1996 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu". Election Commission of India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  22. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 2001 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu". Election Commission of India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  23. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 2006 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu". Election Commission of India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  24. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 2016 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu". Election Commission of India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  25. ^ "After 10 years, Madras High Court declares Appavu elected from Radhapuram constituency in 2016 Assembly polls". The Hindu. 3 June 2026.
  26. ^ "Madras high court declares DMK's Appavu winner in 2016 poll, flags delay caused by Supreme Court". Times of India. 5 June 2026.
  27. ^ "Detailed Results - Election Commission of India 2021". Election Commission of India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  28. ^ "General Election to Assembly Constituencies: Trends & Results May-2026 - Radhapuram". Election Commission of India.
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