Meenakshi Natarajan: Rahul Gandhi loyalist caught in Rajya Sabha poll row

Natarajan was appointed an AICC secretary in 2008 and the following year, Gandhi handpicked her to contest the Lok Sabha election from Mandsaur. Natarajan didn’t disappoint and defeated BJP veteran Laxminarayan Pandey, who had won the seat a total of eight times and had been the incumbent since 1989, by 30,819 votes.

She proved to be an active parliamentarian, asking a total of 135 questions during her tenure on topics ranging from assistance to widows of CRPF personnel, welfare of families of war veterans, urban development, Hajj facilities, and Railways.

Five years later, the story was different as a Narendra Modi wave swept away the Congress across the country, including the Hindi heartland. Natarajan lost by a massive 3.03 lakh votes to the BJP’s Sudhir Gupta. She attempted to win back Mandsaur again in 2019 but failed, with the margin going up to 3.76 lakh votes.

Divisive figure

While the Congress is full of Natarajan’s admirers, including Gandhi, many in the old guard don’t hold such leaders in high regard, dubbing them the “Jai Jagat gang” and criticising their “NGO-style working”.

“One incident that really baffled me was around a decade ago when, during a meeting with Rahul Gandhi, she pretended like she was holding a can of soft drink for the first time. Whether she was acting or not, I don’t know. But it seemed pretentious. Rahul Gandhi took it from her, opened it, and handed it back,” said a senior Congress leader in Madhya Pradesh.

After Natarajan was appointed the AICC’s Telangana in-charge in February 2025, she rubbed many powerful people in the state unit the wrong way, including Chief Minister Revanth Reddy who is learnt to have told the party leadership that her brand of “simplistic” politics might work in north India but would hurt the party’s image in the state. A month after she took charge, Natarajan drew the ire of many in the party by backing students, teachers, and the civil society protesting against the Reddy government over a proposal to clear 400 acres of land allotted to the University of Hyderabad.

However, Natarajan’s supporters disagree and praise her loyalty to the party and Gandhi. “Those who can’t swallow their success ridicule them, saying they work like NGO people. But if in today’s time, when the party is at its low point, if they are standing by the party, it should not only be appreciated but also rewarded. She is among the most honest leaders in the Congress and no one can deny that — not even those who disagree with her style of functioning,” said a Congress leader.

Natarajan holds an MSC degree in biochemistry from Government Holkar Science College in Indore and a law degree from the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Arts and Commerce College in the city.