Markandu Nadarajah is a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

politician and provincial councillor. Nadarajah contested the 2012 provincial council election as one of the

Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance (TNA; ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu'') was a political alliance in Sri Lanka which represented the Sri Lankan Tamil minority of the country. It was formed in October 2001 by a group of moderate T ...

's candidates in

Batticaloa District Batticaloa District ( ; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government A ...

and was elected to the

Eastern Provincial Council The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇa Capai''; “Nagenahira Palat Sabava”; EPC) is the provincial council for the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, EPC has legislative powe ...

(EPC). A few days after the election some TNA councillors including Nadarajah were threatened and coerced into joining the

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA; ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ) was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004 and dissolved by former Sri Lankan President Ma ...

but none of them gave into the threats. Nadarajah and the other newly elected TNA provincial councillors took their oaths on 28 September 2012 in front of TNA leader and Member of Parliament

R. Sampanthan Rajavarothiam Sampanthan (; ; 5 February 1933 – 30 June 2024) was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer who led the Tamil National Alliance from 2001 until his death in 2024. He was one of the longest serving Member of Parliament in the country, ...

References

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians Living people Members of the Eastern Provincial Council Tamil politicians Tamil National Alliance politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{EasternLK-politician-stub