# Vanathi Srinivasan

Vanathi Srinivasan (/ʋaːnati/; born 6 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a lawyer from Tamil Nadu. She has practiced law in Madras High Court since 1993. She is a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Coimbatore South Assembly constituency. She currently serves as national president of the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She is member of central election committee of party since 2022.

## Personal life and education

Srinivasan was born to Kandasamy and Poovathal in Uliyampalayam Village near Thondamuthur block in Coimbatore. She is the eldest in her family and she has a brother, Shiva Kumar. She did her schooling at Thondamuthur Higher Secondary School. Later, she did her UG program in chemistry from PSG College of Arts and Science. She graduated from Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai in 1993 and completed her master's degree in law from the University of Madras in the branch of International Constitution in 1995. She married Srinivasan and they have two sons.

## Career

Vanathi is a lawyer by profession and has been practicing law in Chennai High Court for over two decades. She started her professional career in 1993, working for B. S. Gnanadesikan, Senior Advocate who was former President, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. She was also a standing counsel for Southern Railway and Union Government. She was a former state secretary of BJP Tamil Nadu and also served as board member of Central Board of Film Certification. She contested 2011 and 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election as a BJP candidate.

## Political career

Srinivasan has been a member of BJP since 1993 and held various positions in the party since 1999. She was appointed a State Secretary of the BJP Tamil Nadu in 2013 and continued until 2014 when she was appointed the General Secretary of the BJP Tamil Nadu, a post she continued till June 2020. Later, she was elevated as the state vice president of the state unit. On 28 October 2020, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda appointed her as the National President of the BJP Mahila Morcha. She was added into Central Election Committee of BJP in 2022.
She was first elected as MLA representing the BJP, as part of an alliance, and won the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election from Coimbatore South constituency. She defeated actor Kamal Haasan of Makkal Needhi Maiam. Earlier in 2016, she secured 33,113 votes contesting from the same seat (2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election).

### Elections contested

| Year | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Opponent | Votes | % | Margin |
| 2011 | Mylapore | BJP | 6,911 | 4.84 | ADMK | Rajalakshmi R | 56.03 | Lost | 73,152 |
| 2016 | Coimbatore South | BJP | 26,675 | 21.57 | ADMK | Amman K. Arjunan | 38.94 | Lost | 26,675 |
| 2021 | Coimbatore South | BJP | 53,209 | 34.38 | MNM | Kamal Haasan | 33.26 | Won | 1,728 |

## Controversy
### Disproportionate asset allegation

Srinivasan was involved in a controversy after raids on a company named Zylog Systems, where she holds shares and her brother was a vice president. She denied any involvement with the company and stated that there was no proof to back up the allegations.

### Legal cases

The AIADMK filed criminal cases of assault on Vanathi Srinivasan and six other members including the Hindu Munnani district President T. Guna in Coimbatore during the state assembly campaigns of 2016. The Madras High court granted her an anticipatory bail for the case in August 2016.

### Tamil Nadu bifurcation proposal

Vanathi supports the idea of bifurcating Tamil Nadu to create a separate Kongu Nadu union territory.

## Social activism

She was the State Organiser for Sister Nivedita 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations. She also initiated water conservation projects in Coimbatore to protect the local water bodies.