S Keerthana, the youngest, multilingual woman minister in Vijay’s cabinet, speaks fluent Hindi too

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government has come to transform the state and would remain in power for decades, said S Keerthana, the youngest, multilingual and only woman in Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s cabinet for now, with loads of conviction after taking the oath on Sunday.

The 29-year-old, who can speak five languages, including Tamil, English, Hindi and Telugu, hailed Vijay’s focus on merit and opportunity while giving him the credit for her rise from a middle-class family to the State Cabinet. She said no other political setup would have offered such an opportunity to someone like her.

“Coming from such a middle-class family, getting such an opportunity as a candidate and being a cabinet minister, is it easy in any state? No. He sees the skill, he sees the talent, and we are here to make all the changes,” she said.

‘This govt will last for 35-50 years. We are going to show the world how well we…’

Projecting confidence in the future of the TVK government, she added, “This government will last for 35-50 years. We are going to be the longest government.”

“We are going to show the world how well we can run the government,” she added.

Keerthana was among the nine ministers who took oath after the TVK formed the government with support from Congress, Left parties, VCK, and IUML, ending the dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu politics.

Keerthana, born in the Virudhunagar district in 1996, got elected MLA from the Sivakasi constituency, known as the ‘Fireworks Capital of India’. She is also the first woman MLA from Sivakasi, ending decades of male representation in the constituency.

‘I speak Hindi so that more people can connect with our leader’s message’

Keerthana studied in a Tamil-medium government school and completed her BSc in Mathematics from a college affiliated with Madurai Kamaraj University and later pursued an MSc in Statistics from Puducherry University in 2019.

Since winning the election, Keerthana has been drawing attention for speaking in Hindi. She said she speaks in Hindi so that more people can understand and connect with her leader’s message. Her gesture comes at a time when Hindi has faced strong political resistance in Tamil Nadu.

Before entering active politics, Keerthana worked as a political consultant and digital campaign strategist with Showtime Consulting and IPAC. She was also involved in election campaigns for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and worked with MK Stalin, Mamata Banerjee and Chandrababu Naidu.

Keerthana says her work as a political strategist gave her a deeper understanding of governance, administration and the functioning of bureaucracy.

‘Sivakasi, a high-risk industrial hub, has only one fire service station’

During her election campaign, Keerthana focused on concerns related to safety and healthcare infrastructure in Sivakasi. She highlighted that, despite being a high-risk industrial hub, the constituency has only one fire service station, raising serious questions about emergency preparedness. She also drew attention to gaps in the public healthcare system, pointing out the absence of specialised medical facilities in government hospitals.

She assured comprehensive welfare measures for firecracker industry workers, including insurance coverage, equal pay for women, regular health check-ups, and better access to treatment for those exposed to hazardous chemicals.