Meet S Keerthana, The Youngest MLA In Vijay's Cabinet Who Speaks 5 Languages

At just 29 years old, S Keerthana has emerged as the youngest MLA from Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). She won the Sivakasi Assembly seat in Virudhunagar district and has quickly become one of the party's fresh faces in Tamil Nadu politics.

“I have always imagined myself to be in politics, which is the reason I chose a career as a political strategist,” Keerthana told NDTV. “I worked with different leaders and understood how the system works and how the bureaucracy functions,” she added.

Who Is S Keerthana?

Born in 1996 in Virudhunagar, Keerthana studied in a Tamil-medium government school before building a career in political consulting. She completed her BSc in Mathematics from a college affiliated with Madurai Kamaraj University and later pursued an MSc in Statistics from Puducherry University in 2019.

Before entering active politics, Keerthana worked as a political consultant and digital campaign strategist with Showtime Consulting and IPAC. She was also involved in election campaigns for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Over the years, she worked with former CMs Stalin, Mamata Banerjee and incumbent AP CM Chandrababu Naidu. Speaking about her experience, Keerthana said that her work as a political strategist gave her a deeper understanding of governance, administration and the functioning of bureaucracy.

One of the things that sets her apart is her ability to speak five languages fluently, including Tamil, English, Hindi and Telugu. According to Keerthana, learning multiple languages helped her work across different states and connect with people more directly.

“Language gave me so many opportunities to work in different states,” she said, adding that she chose to speak Hindi so more people across India could understand and connect with Vijay's message.

In the Sivakasi Assembly election 2026, Keerthana secured 68,709 votes and defeated Congress candidate Ashokan G by a margin of 11,670 votes. She is the first female MLA from Sivakasi in seven decades who has defeated a former AIADMK minister.

Explaining why she chose TVK, Keerthana said, “TVK is a place where everyone has access. Even if I don't have a political or money background, I'm there. If you have an intention to do something for the people, you are welcome.”