‘I wasted 6 years’: Kushboo Sundar explains exit from DMK and Congress

“There’s definitely an edge for men in politics… there are always people trying to stop women from growing," says BJP leader Kushboo Sundar.

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The Federal spoke to the senior political figure about gender bias, ideology versus popularity, and what it takes to succeed in Tamil Nadu politics. Besides laying bare the gender imbalance in politics, she also weighed in on Vijay’s political entry, the legacy of MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, and her own journey across parties.

Excerpts from the interview:

You have been in politics for about 15 years. Is the field more advantageous for men or women?

There’s definitely an edge for men because women, whatever they do, there is a bunch of men sitting down trying to malign her or trying to stop her from growing or trying to put a full stop to her future. So, there’s always an edge for men. There are no two ways about it.

Ideology, popularity or money — what matters most to become a politician?

I think the first one — the ability to serve the people.

Kamal Haasan called himself a part-time politician. How do you view Vijay’s politics?

Vijay has to talk about it. I can’t.

After MGR and J Jayalalithaa, why hasn’t film glamour alone worked in politics?

MGR and Jayalalithaa were not only stars, they were political leaders. They built their careers as political leaders from scratch.

The kind of problems MGR met early in his career as a politician, the kind of hurdles he faced, the kind of insults he faced, or the kind of hardships and insults Jayalalithaa faced, they built their careers with their cadres from the bottom.

And let us remember, these leaders were not brought up during social media times, as to how many likes and how many tweets you have. They were built by the people who actually loved them.

You've been through DMK, Congress, and now BJP. Where do you stand today?

I have been very happy. Everybody knows I’ve been open about it. I walked out of DMK because I had issues with a few people. I cannot compromise on my integrity and dignity and respectability and be in one place. So, I quit DMK.

I openly say that I wasted six years of my very special and important timeline with the Congress because, for six years, they did nothing. And I quit because I can’t be a yes man to one particular family, but for the party and to the world.

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Now, I am very happy with BJP because for people like me, who have been there, seen the headline news, seen the breaking news, been there on the front pages, made money, made a name for myself, been a public figure, for me, being in politics means serving the people. It’s not for anything else.

And BJP is one party which truly is working for the people. So that is why I went to the BJP. Even when I was in Congress, I appreciated the prime minister. I have been very vocal about showing my support for a couple of the schemes that were brought in by the prime minister then.

So I am very open about it and I am glad that I am in a party today which truly believes in working for the nation and the nation’s growth.

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