Who Is Vidhya Rani, Forest Brigand Veerappan’s Daughter And NTK’s Krishnagiri Candidate

Krishnagiri: Vidhya Rani, the 33-year-old daughter of the forest brigand who was a household name in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, has been announced as Naam Tamilar Katchi's (NTK) candidate from Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.

Vidhya Rani, Veerappan’s daughter, affirmed to be the spokesperson of the people, vowed to empower the farmers and women in the constituency.

"I have been given a chance by the party to serve the people of India because this is an MP election where I am going to Delhi to speak for the people of Krishnagiri. This place is more farmer's land with less water supply and water facility. Also, there are many people who are educated but unemployed. So I want to focus more on that," said Vidhya Rani on Tuesday.

"I want to attend to the needs of women and make them economically independent. I will be there as a spokesperson for the people and the public. When I am asked to support any of the parties, I will mostly follow the needs of the people. I will support any party that supports the wellness and growth of the people. If it is against the wellness of the people, I will be against it, be it any party," she added.

Who Is Vidhya Rani? 

Vidhya will contest against Congress candidate K Gopinath, C Narasimhan (BJP), and V Jayaprakash (AIADMK), in the April 19 Lok Sabha polls. She said her poll promises would include pressing for a railway station in Krishnagiri, better health facilities, and ensuring basic facilities for those living in hilly areas.

She is set to test her electoral fortunes from Krishnagiri Lok Sabha constituency as the nominee of NTK this time. 

Vidhya Rani, who joined the BJP in 2020, said she switched to NTK under influence of 'Koose Munisamy Veerappan' - a television series about her father. Vidhya's admiration for Seeman, leader of NTK, grew after watching his perspective on her father in the documentary.

Rani, who lived with her maternal grandparents, met her father only once when she was in Class 3. "That was the first and last time I met him. We spoke for 30 minutes, and the conversation is still fresh in my mind. He held me and asked me to pursue medicine and serve the people," she said.

Veerappan was infamous for poaching elephants, smuggling sandalwood, kidnapping high-profile people, including Kannada thespian Raj Kumar and former minister Nagappa, and killing cops.

He had complete grip over the territory that stretched from the Sathyamangalam forest in Erode district to Karnataka's Mysore district. On October 18, 2004, Veerappan was shot and killed by Tamil Nadu's Special Task Force in an encounter in the forest.