Her parents thought her to be cool, so named her Shimla. The gusty 35 year old Shimla Muthu Chozhan southern siren had other plans.
The odds may be staked against her and as the temperatures soar for the May 16 election, Shimla is up against J Jayalalithaa as the DMK candidate for the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in Chennai.
From stepping into Anna Arivalayam, headquarters of DMK 10 years ago, as a driver to her mother-in-law to being an election candidate against a sitting chief minister as the opposing candidate, Shimla has certainly driven hard in Dravidian politics.
Is she in awe of Jayalalithaa.
“Why should I be in awe? We are only two election candidates,” she counters.
DMK, the party sponsoring Shimla against a formidable candidate is however very clear. No point wasting a strong candidate against a powerful candidate who won a bypoll less than a year ago by over 1.5 lakh vote margin, is the party argument in setting up the cool head for the hot seat.
About her opponent she says, “ Jayalalithaa is CM but an invisible MLA. She has not even stepped out of her car to talk to those affected most by December floods.
Armed with a degree in law and business administration, she says her USP is, “I’m a local, understand the needs of the common man and am accessible around the clock.”
More than her oratory, she for her name is a hit on social media.
“When people can have Palani (meaning a hill station) for a name, why can’t I be called Shimla? Afterall my Mom thought I was cool,” she silences her critics with.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
