2 months ago
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A humble location at Sattur off the busy Madurai-Tirunelveli National Highway has an unassuming nonmigratory with an awesome past to his credit. Sixty-four years ago, the resident, P. Ramamoorthy, present 92, volunteered to combat against the past all-powerful Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, K. Kamaraj, in Sattur.
“I was hardly 29. As I was young, I wanted to contention successful the Assembly predetermination and go an MLA. I did not deliberation overmuch astir [the consequences of] contesting against Kamaraj,” Mr. Ramamoorthy says, hastening to adhd that helium had thing idiosyncratic against the erstwhile Chief Minister, who was a “good man”, having done overmuch for the State. “His hands were clean,” helium emphasises.
Inspiring speeches
It was erstwhile Mr. Ramamoorthy was an worker of a backstage institution that the thought of entering electoral authorities struck him. “I recovered speeches of Thevar [Forward Bloc person U. Muthuramalinga Thevar] inspiring. Those days [in 1962], helium was staying in Tiruchi, aft having been acquitted successful the Immanuel Sekaran murder case. I conveyed my tendency to him. It was connected his proposal that I joined the Swatantra Party and became its nominee for Sattur.” However, the determination to contention against Kamaraj was not an casual 1 for him. His father M.K. Pappu Naidu was a long-standing Congress member, having served arsenic the Muthusamipuram village panchayat president for 20 years and the composite Ramanathapuram district committee subordinate successful 1936, isolated from being a subordinate of the Congress committees for Sattur taluk and Ramanathapuram district. “Besides, my community, Kammavar Naidu, loved Kamaraj and played an important relation successful his emergence successful politics,” Mr. Ramamoorthy says.
But, soon, Mr. Ramamoorthy came nether unit from his community. Many representatives of the assemblage tried to person him to opt retired of the race. Notwithstanding his father’s grounds successful the Congress, “he was with maine done heavy and thin. He would archer the visitors that his lad is simply a young man, wanting to look an election. Let him bash that”. Besides, determination was an constituent of fearfulness connected the portion of the Swatantra Party nominee that the past ruling enactment mightiness bash everything to get Kamaraj elected unopposed, arsenic was done, according to Mr. Ramamoorthy, successful respect of T.T. Krishnamachari, who was declared elected from the Tiruchendur Lok Sabha constituency without facing immoderate contestant. At that time, determination were simultaneous elections.
The 1962 predetermination did not make immoderate surprise. Kamaraj won hands down. He defeated Mr. Ramamoorthy by 13,444 votes, the percent of the quality being astir 16%. Those days, the constituency’s electorate was 1,01,991 and the votes polled were 86,338. The victor netted 46,950 votes. According to the last electoral rolls published successful February 2026, the contiguous electorate of Sattur is 2,27,963. On the predetermination expenditure successful 1962, the Sattur contestant recalls that it was astir ₹50,000, “most of which was borne by the party”.
‘False case’
He claims that his determination did not spell without experiencing “repulsion”. After the poll, a “false case” was foisted connected him. Though helium was convicted by the proceedings court, helium was acquitted connected an appeal, the result of which became possible, acknowledgment to the involution of his enactment laminitis C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), who had requested a starring transgression lawyer to reason his case.
Five years later, the party, successful designation of his determination to contention against the erstwhile Chief Minister, enactment him up successful the Sivakasi Lok Sabha constituency. This time, the Swatantra Party was an state of the DMK, which faced the predetermination by forming a conjugation comprising the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Praja Socialist Party, the Samyukta Socialist Party, the Forward Bloc, the Tamil Arasu Kazhagam, the ‘We Tamils’ enactment and the Muslim League. Mr. Ramamoorthy made it to Parliament, garnering astir 1.94 lakh votes and defeating the nearest rival from the Congress, P. A. Nadar, by 31,600 votes. In the Assembly election, Kamaraj tasted his lone electoral setback erstwhile helium mislaid to P. Seenivasan of the DMK in Virudhunagar. Seenivasan’s age, too, was 29.
Only after Kamaraj won successful the 1969 Nagercoil Lok Sabha by-election did Mr. Ramamoorthy meet him successful Parliament. Two years later, when Rajaji decided to squad up with Kamaraj to look the 1971 poll, the Sivakasi parliamentarian could not travel to presumption with his leader’s decision, arsenic his enactment had each on been moving connected the taxable of anti-Congress and anti-Kamaraj. He discontinue electoral politics, though helium was approached by leaders of Indira Gandhi’s Congress and the DMK. However, helium has ne'er failed to execute his antiauthoritarian work by voting successful the elections. He hopes to ballot this April 23 too.
