Early career Jothimani enter the field of politics at her age of 22. She was an active worker in
Indian Youth Congress and a close associate of the
Indian National Congress president
Rahul Gandhi. She was Member of Tamil Nadu
Censor Board during 2006 to 2009. She has represented the
Indian Youth Congress at international forums like American Council for Young Political Leaders that was held in the US in 2006 and Asian Young Leader's Summit 2009 in Malaysia. She was also selected for Vital-Voice of Asia Asian Women Leaders Meet held in
New Delhi in 2010. Jothimani then unsuccessfully contested the
2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election after securing the Indian National Congress' candidature from
Karur constituency.
Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 2016 In July, 2015, Jothimani launched her election campaign from
Aravakurichi constituency for
2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. She has intensified the campaign on the ground and through social media as well. She has been meeting various sections of the people in the constituency and called upon them to give a "missed call" if they supported her candidature. Calendars and pamphlets explaining the initiative have been distributed across the constituency. Her Facebook and Twitter account with the hashtag, 'Aravakurichi 2016,' are replete with postings and pictures of her interaction with voters of the constituency. She has also formed youth groups to reach out to the voters. Between the time the DMK and Congress declared that the national party – Congress would contest from 41 seats and the announcement about which the seats were, there was a rather extended period of silence, filled with suspense. When Aravakurichi did not figure on the Congress list, Jothimani unleashed a volley of strong criticisms and even threatened to contest as an independent candidate. But the alliance leader put its foot down, refusing to concede. For one, this is one of the rare seats that the DMK bagged in the last Assembly election. More importantly, the sitting MLA, the one who is seeking re-election this time, is K C Palanisamy, an important leader in the party affairs in many ways. After a meeting with her supporters, she said that she has decided not to contest in the Aravakurichi constituency in the overall interest of the Congress party. The Election was about to be held on 16 May 2016. Then the election commission postponed it to 23 May 2016 and again postpone the polling along with Thanjavur Assembly constituencies to 13 June 2016. Finally Election Commission cancelled polls to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur Assembly seats.
2019 Election to the Parliament Jothimani attained the Indian National Congress' candidature for the
Indian general election, 2019 from
Karur constituency of the
Lok Sabha. In what was seen as a major upset by many media outlets and political analyst, Jothimani went on to defeat veteran
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader,
M. Thambidurai who had previously served as
Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha Speaker and in the Union Cabinet.
2024 Election to the Parliament She was re-elected from
Karur Lok Sabha constituency however her vote share and margin of winning both decreased subsequently from 2019. She became very active in the protest against
Government of India during
Lok Sabha proceedings. During the
2026 Budget Session of the Lok Sabha, Jothimani was the key protestors among the female Opposition members like
Varsha Gaikwad,
Pratibha Dhanorkar,
R. Sudha, etc who protested during proceedings in the House, in which members entered the vale displaying placards and surrounded the Prime Minister’s seat, leading to an adjournment of proceedings. ==Elections ==