Dayanidhi Maran

Summary

Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran (born 5 December 1966) is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He was elected thrice as a Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency during the 2004 general elections, 2009 general elections & 2019 general elections.

Dayanidhi Maran
Union Minister of Textiles Dayanidhi Maran addressing an Interactive Session of CII, in Mumbai in 2010
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
23 May 2019
Preceded byS. R. Vijayakumar
ConstituencyChennai Central
In office
June 2004 – May 2014
Preceded byMurasoli Maran
Succeeded byS. R. Vijayakumar
ConstituencyChennai Central
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
In office
22 May 2004 – 16 May 2007
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byArun Shourie
Succeeded byA. Raja
Minister of Textiles
In office
28 May 2009 – 12 July 2011
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byShankersinh Vaghela
Succeeded byAnand Sharma
Personal details
Born (1966-12-05) 5 December 1966 (age 57)
Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district , Madras State (now Tamil Nadu India)
Political partyDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
SpousePriya Maran
Alma materLoyola College, Chennai
Websitewww.dmaran.in
As of 22 September, 2006
Source: [1]

He is the son of former Union Minister Murasoli Maran and the grandnephew of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and former DMK president M. Karunanidhi. He is the younger brother of Indian billionaire Kalanithi Maran, the founder, chairman and of Sun Group. He is married to Priya, and has a daughter and a son.

Maran has wide exposure in the fields of media, television, cable technology, political economy and management and has been a delegate at many international seminars and conferences in various countries.

Early life edit

Dayanidhi is the second son of ex-minister Murasoli Maran, who had been the Commerce and Industrial minister. He is also the grandnephew of DMK president and ex-chief minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi. He is the younger brother of Kalanidhi Maran, the founder and managing director of Sun Network. He had his schooling with Don Bosco, Egmore,[1][2] Chennai. He received initial education in Tamil Nadu and graduated in Economics from Loyola College[3] in Chennai. He also attended the "Owner /President Management Programme" (OPM) from Harvard Business School (USA).[4] The Owner/President Management Programme is meant for business owners/founders.[5] Dayanidhi is married to Priya of "The Hindu" family. Priya is the daughter of Ramesh Rangarajan, Director Kasturi & Sons[6] and the pair have a daughter and a son.

Tenure as an MP and Union minister edit

 
Dayanidhi Maran assumes the charge of Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology in New Delhi on May 26, 2004

He contested from Central Chennai Constituency in Tamil Nadu as a DMK party candidate and been elected thrice during the 2004, 2009 & 2019 elections as member of parliament.

During the 2004 elections, his winning margin was over 134,000 votes and he received 62% of the total votes polled.[4] He was appointed Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology on 26 May 2004. During his tenure as IT and Telecommunication Minister the call rates of mobiles and landlines were drastically reduced which in-turn influenced the growth of subscriptions.[7] During the tenure, he was instrumental in garnering a large amount of Foreign Direct Investments into Communication and Information Technology Sector. Many multinational telecom companies including Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Flextronics and Dell set up units in the country. His ministry introduced "One Rupee One India" plan across the country, which enabled calls across the country at a rate of 1 per minute. His ministry set and achieved a target of 250 million connections in Dec 2007 to December 2010, against 75 million in May 2004.[8][9][10]

During the 2009 elections he won by a margin of 33,454 votes and he received 46.82% of the total votes polled.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he once again contested from the Chennai Central Parliamentary Constituency, winning it for the 3rd time, polling a stunning 4,48,911 votes and defeated the other contestants with a record-breaking victory margin of 3,01,520 votes.[11]

Elections contested edit

Year Constituency Result Vote percentage Opposition Candidate Opposition Party Opposition vote percentage
2004 Chennai Central Won 61.68 N. Balaganga AIADMK 35.52[12]
2009 Chennai Central Won 46.82 S.M.K. Mohamad Ali Jinnah AIADMK 41.34[13]
2014 Chennai Central Lost 36.4 S. R. Vijayakumar AIADMK 42.21[14]
2019 Chennai Central Won 57.15 S. R. Sam paul PMK 18.77
 
Karunanidhi family tree

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Don Bosco alumni regale students with school tales". The Times of India. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Bosco boys keep a date with nostalgia". The New Indian Express. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Loyola World Alumni Congress begins on Saturday". The New Indian Express. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Dayanidhi Maran profile". National Informatics Centre. 13 May 2007. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Owner/President Management - Leadership - Programs - Executive Education - Harvard Business School". HBS Executive Education. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  6. ^ "The Marans: Dravida family's Brahmin side". CurrentNews. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Why India Inc loves Dayanidhi?". Ibn Live. 13 May 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Detailed Profile: Thiru Dayanidhi Maran". National Informatics Centre. 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  9. ^ Hiscock 2007, p. 78
  10. ^ Vaasanthi, pp. 265–6
  11. ^ "Results of Chennai Central PC in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections".
  12. ^ "Statistical report on General elections, 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 281. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Statistical report on General elections, 2009 to the 14th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 124. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Statistical report on General elections, 2014 to the 16th Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.

References edit

  • Outlook (15 October 2008), Outlook, volume XLVIII, No. 28, Delhi: Outlook
  • Outlook (22 December 2008), Outlook, volume XLVIII, No. 51, Delhi: Outlook
  • Hiscock, Geoff (2007). India's Global Wealth Club: The Stunning Rise of Its Billionaires and Their Secrets of Success. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470822388.
  • Vaasanthi (2008). Cut-outs, Caste and Cines Stars. Penguin Books India. ISBN 9780143063124.

External links edit

  • QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database – VU2DMK
  • National Institute of Amateur Radio
  • Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website