Ambika Samuel

Ambika Samuel is a Sri Lankan politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament following the results of the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.^[1][2][3] She became popular in social media for her bold stance and activism against tea estate owners by joining politics.^[4][5] Ambika is the first woman hailing from the plantation community to be elected to the Sri Lankan parliament through a major political party.^[6]

She hailed from a typical family background that had faced the brunt of poverty, and her family, similar to other families living in hill country, faced constraints to gain access to basic essential needs for their survival and to continue with the livelihoods.^[7] Her parents have been tea plantation workers for a long time.^[8]

She pursued her primary education at the Haputhale Tamil Primary School. She pursued her GCE Advanced Level in political science and she also took a firm interest in Marxism.^[8] She pursued her higher education at the Haputhale Central College. After completing her higher education, she plied her trade by engaging in social activism with the aim of serving her community.^[7]

She joined politics with the intention of becoming a representative of the people and to stand up for the oppressed Malayaga Tamil community (Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka) against the influential tea estate owners who were holding significant power and authority in handling and managing affairs related to tea production and tea plucking.^[5][7]

However, her political journey faced jeopardy and significant disruptions in early stages due to the intervention of certain influential tea estate owners who had been continuing to suppress and oppress the marginalized community of Malayaga Tamil society and estate workers.^[8] The tea estate owners and politicians from the Central Province notably from Thondaman political family held onto significant power and control at their disposal on the tea industry, and the Malayaga Tamil community, whose livelihoods were mostly dependent upon the tea estates, had been hampered by the manipulation of the tea industry by major market players.^[7][6]

She received extensive training under Malayagam 200 project. She was appointed to the Divisional Executive Council and she later received appointment letter to join the Haputhale Constituency Executive Council. She was also appointed to serve in the Haputhale District Executive Committee.^[7] She also worked for the Education Cooperative Society.^[8]

She was nominated as one of the candidates by National People's Power for the 2024 November General Elections, and she contested the 2024 parliamentary election from the Badulla Electoral District.^[4][9] It also marked a milestone moment in the political landscape as it became the first instance where a major political party had fielded a candidate emerging from the Malayaga estate workers background who had been barred from demonstrating their democratic rights.^[8][10] She won the parliamentary seat by gaining 58,201 votes under the Preferential voting system at the 2024 parliamentary election in order to become a member of parliament.^{[11][12][13][14]} She eventually became the first Tamil woman from Badulla Electoral District to be elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.^[15][16] During the process, Ambika became the first Malayaha Tamil woman to secure a seat in a parliamentary election in Sri Lankan political history.^[8]