Seethakka
Seethakka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Women and Child Welfare Government of Telangana | |
| Assumed office 7 December 2023 | |
| Governor |
|
| Chief Minister | Revanth Reddy |
| Preceded by | Satyavathi Rathod |
| Minister of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Government of Telangana | |
| Assumed office 7 December 2023 | |
| Governor |
|
| Chief Minister | Revanth Reddy |
| Preceded by | Errabelli Dayakar Rao |
| Member of Legislative Assembly, Telangana | |
| Assumed office 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Azmeera Chandulal |
| Constituency | Mulugu (ST) |
| Member of Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh | |
| In office 2009–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Podem Veeraiah |
| Succeeded by | Azmeera Chandulal |
| Constituency | Mulugu (ST) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dansari Anasuya 9 July 1971 Jaggannapet |
| Political party | Indian National Congress (since 2017) |
| Other political affiliations | Telugu Desam Party (2004–2017) |
| Spouse | Sri Kunja Ramu (died) |
| Children | Kunja Surya (son) |
Dansari Anasuya (born 9 July 1971), commonly known as Seethakka, is an Indian politician currently serving as a cabinet minister for Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, Rural Water Supply, Women and Child Welfare in Government of Telangana. She represents Mulug assembly constituency in the Telangana legislative assembly. She won the 2009 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Election and Telangana Legislative Assembly elections in 2018 and 2023.[1][2][3] She was appointed general secretary of All India Mahila Congress in June 2018[4] and in August 2019 became state in-charge of Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress.[5] She is sometimes referred to as 'Iron Lady of Telangana'.[6]
Early life and background
She was born to Adivasi Koya tribe family in Jaggannapet village. Anasuya was a Naxalite before joining politics. She joined the Janashakti Naxal group when she was 14 years old in 1987. She was later disillusioned with the movement and exited it after an eleven-year stint. She surrendered to the police under the general amnesty plan in 1997. She then pursued her studies and became a lawyer. In 2022, she completed her Ph.D. in political science from Osmania University.[7][8][9]
Political career
Anasuya first entered politics in 2004 when she joined the Telugu Desam Party and contested unsuccessfully from Mulug.[10] She contested from it again in 2009, winning the constituency, and defeating Congress candidate Podem Veeriah by a huge margin. She lost the constituency in 2014 to BRS candidate Azmeera Chandulal.
In 2017, Anasuya left the TDP and joined the Congress, soon becoming general secretary of All India Mahila Congress and later state in-charge for Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress. She won the elections for Mulug constituency in 2018 and 2023 as a Congress candidate.[11]
On 7 December 2023, she took oath as a cabinet minister in Telangana.
Currently, Seethakka is serving as a cabinet minister for Panchayat Raj & Rural Development, Rural Water Supply, Women and Child Welfare in Government of Telangana from 7th December 2023.[12][13]
Relief in lockdown
Anasuya had visited over 400 villages near the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border in 2020 during lockdown, providing relief to locals, distributing rice, dal etc., commodities and masks to people in need. Her efforts received tremendous support on social media, “I am doing this as my duty towards my people, for my own satisfaction,” said Anasuya. “There is no support from the TRS government. I could do all this because of donations and support of like-minded individuals.”[14]
References
- ^ "MULUG Election Result 2018, Winner, MULUG MLA, Telangana". NDTV.com. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Mulug Election Result 2018 Live Updates: Candidate List, Winner, Runner-up MLA List". www.elections.in. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Member's Profile - Telangana-Legislature". telanganalegislature.org.in. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Seethakka Andhra Pradesh Mahila Congress in-charge". The Times of India. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Gupta, Poorvi (28 August 2019). "All India Mahila Congress Appoints Six Women In-charge Of Five States". SheThePeople TV. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ Ceremila, Anudeep (8 March 2021). "Times have changed but not our attitude to women: Seethakka". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Jeremiah, M. Enosh. "Seethakka quits Dalam to join Desam". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ "Telangana's Seethakka: Naxalite turned legislator's gallant mission to serve deprived during lockdown". Deccan Herald. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ SADAM, RISHIKA (27 October 2022). "From Naxalite to lawyer to MLA, now with PhD: Meet Seethakka, Congress 'phenomenon' in Telangana". The Print. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ Service, Indo-Asian News (11 October 2022). "Once a gun-wielding Maoist, tribal MLA from Telangana gets PhD". The Siasat Daily. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ "Sitakka joins Congress". The Hindu. 31 October 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ The Hindu (9 December 2023). "Portfolios allocated to Ministers in the new Telangana Cabinet". Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ India Today (9 December 2023). "Revanth Reddy assigns portfolios to 11 ministers in Telangana Cabinet: Full list". Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Telangana's Seethakka: Naxalite turned legislator's gallant mission to serve deprived during lockdown". Deccan Herald. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2022.