H. Raja

Hariharan Raja Sharma also known as H. Raja is an Indian politician. He started his political-social life as an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) promoter. He was a MLA representing the Karaikudi constituency in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2006. He was one of the national secretaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party from 2014 to 2020. H Raja is known for his controversial statements and statements against other religions. H. Raja was born as Hariharan Raja Sharma in a village called Melattur near Thanjavur to Hariharan Sharma and Lalitha. His father Hariharan Sharma who was also an active RSS member went to jail when RSS was banned in 1948. His father worked as a professor in Alagappa University and died at the age of 88 in October 2017. H Raja published the biggest Tamil-Sanskrit dictionary with over 45,000 words compiled by his father after his demise. By profession, Raja is a chartered accountant. H. Raja was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist before he joined the BJP in 1989. He assumed several roles in BJP including district convener in 1991, followed by state secretary, state general secretary and then, national secretary in 2014. Raja unsuccessfully contested in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Raja was given a BJP candidate seat from Sivaganga in 1993 and lost. He was elected as an MLA of the Karaikudi constituency from 2001 to 2006. Raja lost in the state assembly elections from Thyagarayanagar constituency in 2006. H Raja was the BJP candidate from Sivaganga constituency in the 2014 Indian general elections, but lost to AIADMK's PR Senthilnathan. In the 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election Raja contested from Alandur constituency and lost. In February 2016, Raja was appointed as the chairman of Passenger Amenities Committee. The committee addresses the grievances of the passengers and ensures cleanliness, hygiene and safety of the passengers. In 2017, the committee approved the printing of passenger train tickets in regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Odia.