From salesman to Lok Sabha MP: Inspiring journey of Congress leader Vasanthakumar who defied ‘Modi Tsunami’

His smile won millions of hearts in Tamil Nadu. His compassion touched whoever came in his contact. He was not a mass leader (the kind of those we see these days) but certainly the one who cared for his people.

Congress leader H Vasanthakumar’s journey from a salesman to a Lok Sabha MP is inspirational in many ways. He could have laddered up in politics, had he changed his loyalty, but he firmly held the hand of Congress. When most of the Congressmen disappeared into political oblivion, he hit back and secured a seat for the grand old party in Lok Sabha.

Vasanthakumar was not just a successful businessman who made it big by starting from scratch, but a loving and familiar face in Tamil Nadu.

He founded Vasanth and Co in 1978 as a home appliances showroom in Chennai and decided to become the brand ambassador of his enterprise. In late 70s and early 80s, he appeared in the advertisements for the promotion of his showroom, and soon became a household face among Tamil speaking people.

Today, Vasanth and Company has 71 stores spread across the southern states and is a popular go-to brand for domestic needs.

Though Vasanthakumar achieved phenomenal success in business, his heart and mind were always at politics. Following his elder brother Kumari Anandan, who was a Congress leader, Vasanthakumar also joined politics.

But his major foray into electoral politics happened in 2006 when he contested the Assembly elections from Nanguneri Constituency. Ten years later he contested the same seat and won but had to give it up following his victory from the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections.

In the times when many big leaders lost in the electoral battle, Vasanthakumar did not only defied the ‘Modi Tsunami’ but also crushed the BJP candidate by a margin of 2.5 lakh votes. He defeated BJP rival Pon Radhakrishnan, a former Union Minister in the coastal constituency – Kanyakumari in Lok Sabha polls 2019.

Vasanthakumar also served as the Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Congress and chairman of the TNCC Traders Cell.

Mourning his demise, several Congressmen and leaders of other parties expressed their grief. Rahul Gandhi said, “His commitment to the congress ideology of serving the people will remain in our hearts forever”. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor said, “His life was a saga of triumph against challenging odds.”

His niece, daughter of Anandan, Tamilisai Soundararajan who is at present the Governor of Telangana state, expressed her shock and deep grief saying her heart “fails to accept that her uncle is no more.”