ChennaiAug 16, 2025 07:00 IST
First published on: Aug 16, 2025 at 07:00 IST
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La Ganesan, a veteran organiser for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and one of BJP’s longest-serving leaders in Tamil Nadu, who went on to serve as Governor in three states, died on Friday in Chennai. He was 80.
The Governor of Nagaland since February 2023, Ganesan was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on August 8 after a brief illness. His condition worsened over the following week, hospital officials said.
Born on February 16, 1945, in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, into a Brahmin family, Ila Ganesan — as he was known to colleagues — was drawn to the RSS as a boy, becoming a full-time pracharak in his youth. His early decades in the organisation were largely outside the public spotlight. That changed in the early 1990s, when the RSS deputed him to the BJP as general secretary in charge of the party’s organisation in Tamil Nadu, a post he held until 2003.
His tenure spanned a period of tumult and unlikely alliances for the BJP in the state. Alongside the political commentator Cho Ramaswamy, Ganesan was credited with engineering the BJP’s tie-up with the DMK in the late 1990s, after the AIADMK, led by J Jayalalithaa, pulled out of the NDA government.
Ganesan’s political style stood apart from the newer generation of BJP leaders. He cultivated cordial relationships across the political spectrum — with DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, Jayalalithaa, and even Communist leaders — and avoided the strident personal attacks that often colour Tamil Nadu’s political discourse.
Never known to flaunt his caste identity, he instead built a reputation as a soft-spoken organiser and skilled orator who could address audiences in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi. Party colleagues recall him as a “simple man” who often travelled with only a small bag, and as one of the few BJP leaders to work consistently to connect with the Tamil diaspora in Sri Lanka, Europe, and across Asia.
Beyond politics, Ganesan was steeped in literature and music. He wrote columns for mainstream publications, edited Ore Naadu (One Nation), the Tamil Nadu BJP’s mouthpiece, and founded Pottramarai (Golden Lotus), a collective of Tamil scholars from around the world. Among RSS colleagues, he was known as a singer and composer, having written and set to music several songs on patriotism and national integration.
He rose through the BJP’s ranks to become state president of the Tamil Nadu unit, national secretary, and vice-president. In the Rajya Sabha, he represented Madhya Pradesh.
In August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed him governor of Manipur; he later held additional charge as governor of West Bengal before moving to Nagaland in 2023.
A lifelong bachelor, Ganesan remained active in public life until his final weeks.