The candidates of the left parties contesting in the by-elections in Madurantakam and Dharapuram have been announced.
On behalf of the Communist Party of India, Laxmanan has been fielded as the candidate in the Dharapuram constituency. He holds the position of Dharapuram taluk secretary.
On behalf of the Marxist Communist Party, Sugandhi has been announced as the candidate in Madurantakam. Sugandhi has been fighting for women’s rights in Tamil Nadu.
Details about CPI(M) candidate P. Sugandhi for Madurantakam (Reserved)
She was born in Mallanginaru - Ayan Reddiyapatti in Virudhunagar district. She is 58 years old. Her father was a government school headmaster, and her mother was a government school teacher.
She studied M.A. at Virudhunagar V.V. Vanniyaperumal Women’s College and B.Ed. at Annamalai University, Chidambaram.
Social Activist
She first worked in a government-aided school hostel. Later, leaving that job, she served as a volunteer, thinker, and district coordinator in the literacy movement launched by the government in 1990.
She entered public life through her work of teaching literacy to poor and underprivileged people who had lost the opportunity to study at a young age.
Joined the All India Democratic Women’s Association in 1991. She joined the party in 1991 and served as the Virudhunagar district secretary of the Democratic Women’s Association, and from 2011 for 10 years served as the state general secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association.
She is currently serving as a member of the state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Since 2025, she has been serving as the state general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front.
For the safety of women and children....
She has been tirelessly fighting against atrocities against women and children across Tamil Nadu, working to ensure safety and secure justice.
The horrific gang rape of a schoolgirl in Aruppukkottai in 1995.
Financial assistance for treatment and legal battle for Vinodhini, an engineering graduate who was attacked with acid in Karaikal in 2012.
The horrific crime in which two children were abducted and sexually assaulted in Thittakudi, Cuddalore district, in 2013.
The case in which two schoolgirls were sexually assaulted by a teacher at a government higher secondary school in Chengalpattu in 2013,
She led the struggle on behalf of the Democratic Women’s Association to secure justice for those affected by the issues involved, and ensured that justice was delivered.
She has witnessed many struggles for the demands of various sections of society.
Her husband, comrade K. Samuelraj, is serving as a member of the state executive committee of the Marxist Communist Party. Both of them have devoted themselves full-time to public service. They have two daughters, Cynthia and Subhashini.