S. Rajesh Kumar

S. Rajeshkumar was born on 28 August 1972 in Palliyadi in Kanyakumari district. He studied at LMS Higher Secondary School, Palliyadi, before entering public life through the Indian National Congress. Over the years, he built influence in the district through grassroots organisation and constituency-level outreach.

He comes from a noted political family. His father, S. Sivalingam, was active in public life, and he is related to former leaders R. Ponnappan and Pon. Vijayaraghavan. Despite that background, Rajeshkumar established his own political identity through local campaigning, party work, and sustained voter engagement in the Kanyakumari belt.

His first breakthrough came in the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, when he won from Killiyoor. The victory reasserted Congress's relevance in the constituency and elevated him as one of the party’s prominent younger MLAs. He successfully retained the seat in 2021, confirming his personal electoral base.

In February 2024, he was chosen as the Leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The appointment reflected the party leadership’s confidence in his legislative experience and organisational strength in the state.

In the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, he won Killiyoor for a third consecutive term with 66,434 votes, securing victory by 1,311 votes as the Congress candidate. As of 2026, he continues as one of the party’s most important legislators in Tamil Nadu.