Priya Rajan is a pioneering Indian politician who made history on March 4, 2022, when she was sworn in as the 49th Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation, simultaneously becoming the first Dalit woman, the youngest person, and the first mayor from North Chennai in the city’s 334-year municipal history.
A committed member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), she was elected as a councillor from Ward 74 (Mangalapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zone) in the 2022 Tamil Nadu local body elections before being elevated by her party to the mayorship.
Her election represents not merely a personal achievement but a landmark moment in the democratisation of power in one of India’s most significant metropolitan cities.
Profile
| Full Name | R. Priya Rajan |
| Born | November 20, 1993 |
| Age | 32 years (as of November 2025) |
| Birthplace | Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Politician, Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation |
| Caste | Scheduled Caste (Dalit) |
| Political Party | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) |
| Current Position | 49th Mayor, Greater Chennai Corporation (since March 4, 2022) |
| Father | ‘Perambur’ R. Rajan – Ward-level DMK functionary, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar; over 30 years in the party |
| Spouse | Venkatesan (IT professional) |
Early Life
Priya Rajan was born on November 20, 1993, in Chennai, then known as Madras, into a family with deep roots in DMK politics and in the Scheduled Caste (Dalit) community of North Chennai. Her father, popularly known as ‘Perambur’ R. Rajan, has been an active DMK party functionary in the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar area of North Chennai for over 30 years, serving as the area co-secretary and deeply embedding the family’s identity in the party’s grassroots work.
Growing up in North Chennai, a part of the city historically characterised by working-class communities, industrial labour, and persistent civic neglect from successive administrations, Priya developed from her early years a direct and personal awareness of the governance gaps that affected her community’s daily lives. She witnessed the inadequate water supply, the potholed roads, the electricity failures, and the social and infrastructure inequities that defined life in North Chennai relative to the city’s more affluent southern and central areas.
She was formally inducted into the DMK at the age of 20, though she had been closely observing party work since childhood, regularly accompanying her father to the DMK office and absorbing the rhythms of grassroots political organisation. Her father has noted that “she knows and understands the issues of the people well”, an observation that speaks to the practical political education she received from her earliest years within the DMK’s community structures.
Education
Priya Rajan completed her undergraduate education at Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Arts and Science College for Women in Chennai, one of the city’s established women’s colleges. She pursued a postgraduate degree in Commerce (M.Com) at the same institution, graduating with academic credentials that gave her a foundation in financial management and economic analysis relevant to the urban governance responsibilities she would later assume. Her educational background in commerce has informed her approach to managing Greater Chennai Corporation’s significant budget and infrastructure development agenda.
Career
Priya Rajan’s political career began formally when she joined the DMK at age 20, building on the party work she had observed and participated in through her father’s extensive grassroots involvement. She worked within the party’s youth and women’s wings in the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar area, building her own constituency and developing the interpersonal and organisational skills that would prepare her for elected office.
The pivotal moment in her career came with the January 2022 Government Order issued by the Tamil Nadu state government, then newly led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s DMK administration, reserving the Mayor of Chennai post specifically for a Scheduled Caste woman candidate. This decision reflected both the DMK’s ideological commitment to Dravidian social justice values and a deliberate effort to break the historical underrepresentation of Dalit women in urban civic leadership.
In the 2022 Tamil Nadu Urban Local Body elections, Priya Rajan was fielded by the DMK in Ward 74 (Mangalapuram) in the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zone and won her councillor seat. The DMK secured a majority in the Greater Chennai Corporation as part of a sweeping victory across all 21 municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. On March 3, 2022, the DMK announced her as its mayoral candidate. On March 4, 2022, she was formally elected as the 49th Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation, with the oath of office administered by GCC Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi.
Her election made history on multiple fronts simultaneously: first Dalit woman mayor of Chennai, first mayor from North Chennai, youngest mayor in the city’s history (at 28 years old at the time of swearing-in), and only the third woman to hold the position after Tara Cherian and Kamakshi Jayaraman. The post carries additional significance given that it was previously held by current Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, marking it as an important stepping stone in Tamil Nadu’s DMK political hierarchy.
In office, Priya Rajan has focused on road improvement, water supply regularisation (particularly in North Chennai, which has historically received water only on alternate days), electricity infrastructure upgrades, and inclusive urban development. She has consistently emphasised that city development must prioritise the lives of common people and that the DMK’s commitment to involving youth and women in governance is best expressed through tangible improvements to residents’ daily lives.
She has positioned herself as a forward-thinking young leader addressing contemporary urban challenges through the lens of Dravidian movement ideology, and has been described by political analysts as a symbol of the DMK’s investment in a new generation of Dalit women leaders in Tamil Nadu politics.
Social Media
Priya Rajan is active on Twitter/X under the handle @PriyarajanDMK, where she shares updates on Corporation development works, government welfare schemes, and DMK party activities. Her social media communications are largely formal and governance-focused, reflecting the institutional seriousness with which she approaches her mayoral role. She also maintains a presence on Facebook and engages with Chennai residents through digital platforms on civic issues.
Personal Life
Priya Rajan is married to Venkatesan, an IT professional working with a Chennai-based company. She has described her husband as her “greatest strength” and noted that he has been consistently supportive of her political career, including accompanying her to the DMK office and engaging with the political environment with genuine interest and respect rather than reluctance. Their relationship reflects the kind of partnership that enables demanding public service careers, and his stable professional background provides the household with financial independence from her relatively modest mayoral salary.
She comes from a Scheduled Caste (Dalit) background, and her election as the first Dalit woman mayor of Chennai is deeply personal to her, she has spoken publicly about the responsibility she feels toward Chennai’s Dalit communities and the importance of their representation at the highest levels of municipal governance.
Net Worth
As Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation, Priya Rajan draws an official monthly salary of approximately ₹25,000 from the Corporation, a notably modest sum that reflects the civic rather than commercial nature of the position.
This is supplemented by her husband’s income as an IT professional. Her personal net worth has not been publicly declared, though the modest scale of her formal remuneration and her background suggest a financially straightforward personal life consistent with her grassroots political identity.
Conclusion
Priya Rajan’s election as Chennai’s first Dalit woman Mayor and youngest-ever holder of the position is a historic event whose significance extends far beyond the boundaries of Greater Chennai Corporation.
It represents the DMK’s genuine commitment to social justice, the empowerment of Dalit women in civic leadership, and the incorporation of North Chennai’s long-neglected communities into the mainstream of city governance.
As she continues to serve her term, Priya Rajan carries not only the administrative responsibility of leading one of India’s largest municipal corporations but also the symbolic weight of a community’s aspiration to be seen, heard, and governed by their own. Her story is one of India’s most inspiring political biographies of the modern era.