The 28-year-old first time councillor, elected from ward 74 in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zone will take her oath as Chennai’s 49th Mayor on Friday as DMK has majority at the council.
Priya is a close relative of former DMK MLA Sengai Sivam and her husband K Raja is also a party cadre.
She is said to be a close aide of HR and CE minister P K Sekar Babu. She also happens to be the first Mayor from north Chennai as a majority of former Mayors, including Stalin, M Subramanian and Saidai Duraisamy, were from the southern part of the city.
Priya will become the third woman Mayor of the city after Tara Cherian and Kamacthi Jayaraman.
A resident of Mangalapuri in Perambur, Priya belongs to the SC category and she completed her Master of Commerce degree in 2016. Priya will lead the women dominated council that has a total of 102 women councillors (including her) out of total 200 seats.
In a surprise move, M Mahesh Kumar, who won in ward 169 in Perungudi zone, has been announced as the Deputy Mayor candidate.
It was rumoured earlier that either N Citrarasu, district in-charge (Chennai West), or party’s Chief Executive Member K Dhanasekaran would get the ticket. But DMK high command has surprises storied in stock
Soon after the DMK headquarters announced her name, she expressed gratitude towards the party leadership and said that her priority is to ensure that civic issues are dealt with at the earliest, especially road repair.
“Apart from the roads, my aim is to ensure cleanliness across the city. As I come from north Chennai, I know the importance of cleanliness,” she said. She added that she will also take all the advise from Chief Minister MK Stalin.” She added
