Thol Thirumavalavan

Thol Thirumavalavan is an active politician from Tamil Nadu. He is a Dalit activist, and Member of Parliament in 15th Lok Sabha and the present president of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi a Dalit political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He rose to prominence in the early 90s as a Dalit leader and finally entered politics in 1999 by contesting in elections. He initially studied chemistry, and went on to do a masters degree in Criminology, before studying law at Madras Law College. He then began working in the government's Forensic Department as a scientific assistant. In 1999, he contest polls and failed twice in both 1999 and 2004 elections. He won 2009 elections from Chidambaram constituency. Like other politicians, he also been surrounded by controversies of creating cast violence and also communal adequacy in Tamilnadu.

In the 2019 general elections he regained his seat, went on to strengthen his position as a Dalit rights advocate and Tamil nationalist leader. In 2021, his party, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), made it to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly with four seats, which is considered as a major milestone.

The power of VCK increased in 2024, as shown by the fact that a party candidate got 15.59% of the vote in the by-election at Erode East, which is a strong indication of the party's rising support base. It was when he won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and thus brought home the victory for the party in Chidambaram constituency that Thirumavalavan's leadership became clearer and stronger.