She is the wife of Velayutham Sasitharan (alias Elilan), the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's political head for Trincomalee.
[3][4] Whilst at school she met Velayutham Sasitharan (alias Elilan) who was active in the political wing of the rebel LTTE.
[3] After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Eastern Province Elilan re-located to the Vanni and worked at the Kilinochchi District Secretariat alongside his wife.
[6][5] Ananthi and her three daughters ended up in the IDP camps before she resumed her work as an Management Assistant in the Samurdhi Department of the Kilinochchi District Secretariat.
[14][15] On 20 September 2013 a group of around 70 armed men in military uniform attacked Sasitharan's home in Chulipuram, injuring some of her supporters and an election monitor.
[16][17][18] On 21 September 2013, the day of the election, a fake edition of the pro-TNA newspaper Uthayan appeared, falsely claiming that Ananthi had defected to the governing United People's Freedom Alliance.
[26][27][28] Ananthi was sworn in as Minister of Women's Affairs, Rehabilitation, Social Services, Co-operatives, Food Supply and Distribution, Industries and Enterprise Promotion in front of Governor Reginald Cooray on 29 June 2017.