When Chennai played host to meetings of a galaxy of leaders in 1980s and 2000s Premium

Launch of Joint Action Committee on Fair Delimitation by Tamil Nadu CM M.K.Stalin revives historical coalition attempts.

The recent launch of the Joint Action Committee on Fair Delimitation, an initiative of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, has brought back memories of attempts made by two of his predecessors to establish broad coalitions of parties in the last 35-odd years.

The middle of 1988 saw an unusually active phase of politics, though it was still 18 months to go for the Lok Sabha election. Riding on the support of major non-Congress parties, Jan Morcha leader V.P. Singh defeated Sunil Shastri, son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Congress nominee, in the Allahabad (Prayagraj) Lok Sabha by-election by a convincing margin. This victory inspired the Opposition. About a week before the June 16 polling, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) proposed a national front of all non-Congress parties. More than a month later, seven parties, including the DMK, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), met in New Delhi and decided to launch, what was called, the National Front (NF). The other four parties were the Janata Party, the Lok Dal, the Congress (S) and the Jan Morcha, which were trying to constitute themselves into one unit.

Though the launch of the NF was announced on August 6, its maiden public engagement took place in Chennai on September 17, 1988, with a massive rally and a public meeting on the Marina.

The Hindu wrote a week later: “It was a grand spectacle on the Marina in Madras on September 17 when the National Front was formally launched in the presence of a galaxy of leaders of parties opposed to the Congress (I).” Besides NTR and Singh, the long list of VIPs at the function included DMK president and host M. Karunanidhi, Janata Party president Ajit Singh, Lok Dal president H.N. Bahuguna, Karnataka Chief Minister S.R. Bommai, Haryana Chief Minister and Lok Dal leader Devi Lal, AGP leader and Assam Chief Minister P.K. Mahanta, and Congress (S) president Sarat Chandra Sinha.

The choice of Chennai as the launch pad came in for discussion because the DMK was not in power. It was Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and once regarded in the Congress as a potential threat to Indira Gandhi, explained why the city was selected. “First, among the National Front constituents, the DMK has the strongest organisation to arrange things; secondly, for 200 years, Madras has been the hub of major political activity; thirdly, Tamil Nadu will be the first State to have an election before the next general election and hence an ideal place; and finally, as the Congress has been playing on the north-south feelings, the National Front will be giving a complete, viable alternative by taking off from here,” this newspaper quoted him as saying on September 17, 1988.

Another account of the paper gave an idea of the mood in Chennai: “The DMK’s red and black flag was seen everywhere, while the flags of other constituents and that of the National Front were a rarity. Its election symbol, the rising sun, was projected in several eye-catching ways. The five-star hotels where the DMK put them up hummed with political activity on Friday, with each leader trying to catch media attention. Reporters could be seen running from one room to another to cover a press conference. The inaugural public meeting went on for nearly six hours, until disturbed by rain around 2.30 a.m.”

Four months later, when Tamil Nadu went to the Assembly election, the DMK made a triumphant comeback, with Karunanidhi taking over as the Chief Minister after 13 years. Later that year, the NF formed a Council of Ministers at the Centre with Singh as the Prime Minister. After Singh lost a confidence motion in November 1990, it was a matter of time that the Front lost its relevance. Karunanidhi had again played a key role in the formation of the United Front in 1996 which also had a short life.