The years that saw two Dravidian majors becoming Tamil Nadu’s principal players Premium

The decade starting from 1967 marked a pivotal moment for Tamil Nadu as it witnessed the rise of the DMK and the AIADMK

The decade starting from 1967 marked a pivotal moment for Tamil Nadu, as it witnessed the rise of two significant Dravidian parties: the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Since 1977, these two parties have remained the dominant forces in the State’s political landscape, solidifying their positions as the primary players in Tamil Nadu’s political arena.

In the 1967 Lok Sabha election held in the State along with the Assembly poll,  the DMK-led United Front (UF), consisting of Swatantra, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Muslim League, took on the then ruling Congress. Interestingly, the DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, who tasted defeat in Kancheepuram in the 1962 Assembly election,  preferred to contest from the South Madras Lok Sabha constituency five years later, despite being the head of the DMK and the front.  Even though he won, he quit the MP post to become the first non-Congress Chief Minister of the State, post-Independence.

In the Lok Sabha election, the UF bagged 35 seats, of which the DMK secured 25, Swatantra - six and the CPI(M) - four.  The Congress could get only three - Nagapattinam, Tenkasi and Nagercoil (now called Kanniyakumari)  - with most of its prominent faces, C. Subramaniam and R. Venkataraman (Thanjavur)  biting the dust. 

Even though the Congress, at the all India level, scraped through in 1967 and formed a government with a slender majority, it experienced a huge split two years later.  The party had witnessed a vertical split - the Congress (Requisitionists or Ruling) and the Congress (Organisation).  Former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, who was one of those responsible for Indira Gandhi to become Prime Minister in 1966 and 1967, found himself with critics of Indira Gandhi. With this development, the alignments changed in the State too. The DMK became a friend of the Congress (R ). Meanwhile, in the early 1969, M. Karunanidhi became Chief Minister with the death of Annadurai.  In March 1971, the country faced snap polls.

While the DMK won in 23 constituencies in the State, its major partner, Congress (R), captured nine and another partner, the CPI secured four. The Forward Bloc and the Muslim League netted one each.  An interesting feature was the narrow margin of difference in the erstwhile Tiruchendur Lok Sabha constituncy with which M. S. Sivasamy of the DMK was declared elected, defeating  M. Mathias of the Swatantra by 26 votes.

The election also saw two long-standing rivals in Tamil Nadu politics - Kamaraj and C. Rajagopalachari or Rajaji - coming together. Their parties, Congress (O) and Swatantra, faced the election along with the  Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP).   Kamaraj was the solitary winner of the Opposition and he was elected from Nagercoil.