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The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State (later renamed as Tamil Nadu) was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress (Congress). Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities, and a shortage of rice were the dominant issues. K. Kamaraj's resignation as the Chief Minister in 1963, to concentrate on party affairs, along with persistent rumors of corruption had weakened the incumbent Congress Government. This was the first time that a non-congress party had gained a single simple majority in a state assembly in India, second time after Communist Party of India winning Kerala assembly elections in 1957 for a non-Congress party alliance to gain the majority in a state in India, and the last time that Congress held power in Tamil Nadu. It marked the beginning of Dravidian dominance in the politics of Tamil Nadu. Annadurai, who became the first non-Congress chief minister of post-independence Tamil Nadu, died in office in 1969 and V.R. Nedunchezhiyan took over as acting chief minister. Since then, except for brief months of President's rule, only Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and its splitaway Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have formed cabinets in the State.

Quick Facts All 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 118 seats needed for a majority, Turnout ...
1967 Madras Legislative Assembly election

 1962 5–21 February 1967 1971 

All 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
118 seats needed for a majority
Turnout76.57%
  First party Second party
  Thumb Thumb
Leader C. N. Annadurai M. Bhakthavatsalam
Party DMK INC
Leader's seat MLC[1] Sriperumbudur
(lost)
Seats won 179 51
Seat change Increase 121[2] Decrease 84[2]
Popular vote 8,051,433 6,293,378
Percentage 52.59% 41.10%
Swing Increase 15.70% Decrease 5.04%

Chief Minister before election

M. Bakthavatsalam
INC

Chief Minister

C.N. Annadurai
DMK

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Background

The Congress party began to show weakness in the years after the 1962 election.[3] In the summer of 1962, DMK conducted demonstrations against rising prices. These demonstrations turned violent throughout the state leading to the arrest of 6500 DMK volunteers, 14 members of the assembly and four members of the Lok Sabha, including Annadurai.[3]

Kamaraj voluntarily resigned the Chief Ministership in 1963, despite being popular, to assume the presidency of the All India Congress Committee and was replaced by M. Bakthavatsalam. Kamaraj had hoped to serve as role model to other senior Congress leaders to pave way for youngsters and strengthen the party's popularity. Robert L. Hardgrave Jr. (Temple Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, Government and Asian Studies from the University of Texas) wrote in an article published in the journal Pacific Affairs, that M. Bhaktavatsalam did not have the personal charisma or political acumen of Kamaraj. Persistent rumours of corruption tarnished the image of the Government. In October 1964, the food crisis brought the popularity of the Congress Government to an all-time low.[3]

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Issues

The major issues at play in the election were the official language issue, the rise in essential commodity prices and the shortage of rice. The central Government led by the Indian National Congress had implemented an act replacing English with Hindi as an official language of India while retaining a possible "associate" status to English. The switchover came into effect on 26 January 1965. In protest to the vague wording of the act, fearing a possible elimination of English and imposition of Hindi, DMK had launched an agitation opposing the switchover and that agitation turned violent. The 1967 election was held in the aftermath of this violence.[4]

The acute rice shortage prevailing in the state became an election issue with the DMK promising to supply three padis (approx. 4.5 kg) of rice for 1 Rupee in its election manifesto.[5][6] The DMK capitalised on the rice shortage as well as widespread discontent with the Bhaktavatsalam administration. Slogans like Kamarajar Annachi kadalaiparuppu vilai ennachu (Elder Brother (Annachi is a title historically been used to refer to a person of Kamaraj's caste) Kamaraj, what happened to the price of chana dal?), Bhaktavatsalam annachi, arisi vilai ennachu (lit. Brother Bhatavatsalam, what happened to the price of rice?) were used effectively by the DMK to stir public anger against the Congress.[7]

This election was noted for popular actor, DMK candidate and future Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) being shot in the throat by actor M.R. Radha mere weeks before the polls. He survived the shooting, but the incident created a huge popularity wave for MGR. This eventually helped to increase the popularity of not only MGR, but also the DMK in the election, and is attributed as one of the reasons for the victory of the DMK.[8]

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Coalitions

There were two major political coalitions running in the elections. The Indian National Congress contested[9] alone, while the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) under Periyar E. V. Ramasamy supported and campaigned for the incumbent Congress against his protege Annadurai.[10][11][12] The DMK-led front comprised the Swatantra Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Praja Socialist Party, Samyukta Socialist Party, Tamil Nadu Toilers Party, Republican Party of India and the Indian Union Muslim League. The Tamil Arasu Kazhagam and the We Tamils party campaigned using the DMK election symbol.[4] This opposition coalition was forged by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) with the sole purpose of defeating the Kamaraj led Congress. Rajaji's personal hostility to Kamaraj and his opposition to the Congress party were the main reasons behind Swatantra's alliance with DMK.[13] The Communist Party of India campaigned alone without joining either of the two coalitions.[14][15]

The electoral alliance between DMK, Swatantra Party and Muslim League had emerged in the years before the 1964 civic elections throughout Madras state. During the 1964 election campaign Rajagopalachari had said, "The DMK and Muslim League are my children and I am duty bound to nurse them to strength and stature."[3]

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Campaigning

Both Congress and DMK used films and actors for campaigning. Gemini Studios produced a political film for the Congress Vazhga Nam Thayagam starring Shivaji Ganesan and Nagesh. Sivaji and Padmini worked for the Congress party. Despite its efforts, Congress could not counter the DMK's propaganda, which had a long history of using films for political campaigns since its founding.[16]

DMK's long-term association with the Tamil Film industry was put to good use in the campaign. MGR's films were used to attack Congress policies and to popularise DMK's positions. Similar to the tactics employed in the elections of 1957 and 1962, film songs and dialogues from Kaanji Thalaivan (1963), "Deivathai (1964), "Padakotti (1964)", Aayirathil Oruvan", Enga Veettu Pillai (1965), Anbe Vaa (1966), Naan Aanaiyittal (1966), "Mugarasi (1966)", "Petralthan Pillaya (1966)",Vivasayee (1967) and Arasakattalai (1967) were used for political messaging. Lesser known film stars like Ravichandran and Jaishankar used their films for praising DMK and Annadurai. The DMK put up posters of MGR recuperating in a hospital bed with a neck cast (from his gunshot wounds) all over Tamil Nadu to garner public sympathy and support.[7][17][18]

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Election

The election was held for a total of 234 constituencies, including 43 Scheduled Caste and 2 Scheduled Tribe reserved constituencies. 778 candidates, including 11 women were in the fray, of whom 231 men and 3 women were elected to the assembly. The election saw a turnout of 76.57 percent of all eligible voters, with 79.19% men and 73.99% women casting their votes. The polling for the assembly election took place along with the polling for the 1967 parliamentary elections. It took place in three phases between 5 and 21 February (5, 18 and 21 February).[19][20]

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Seat Allotment

DMK Front

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Congress

More information No., Party ...
No.
Party Election Symbol Leader Seats
1.Indian National CongressM. Bhakthavatsalam232
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Results

DMK and its coalition allies won 179 seats (76.5%). The Indian National Congress won 51 seats (21.8%).[21] Four candidates of the Naam Thamizhar Party led by S. P. Adithanar and two candidates of Tamil Arasu Kazhagam led by M. P. Sivagnanam contested[9] under DMK's "Rising Sun" Symbol. The Indian Union Muslim League candidates contested[9] as independents.[22]

[2][23]

More information Alliances, Party ...
Thumb
Alliances Party Popular Vote Vote % Seats contested Seats won Change
United Front[24]


Seats: 179
Seat Change: Increase 121
Popular Vote: 8,051,433
Popular Vote %: 52.59%

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 6,230,552 40.69% 174 137 Increase 87
Swatantra Party 811,232 5.30% 27 20 Increase 12
CPI(M) 623,114 4.07% 22 11 Increase 11
Praja Socialist Party 136,188 0.89% 4 4 Increase 4
Indian Union Muslim League 95,494 0.62% 3 3 Increase 3
Samyukta Socialist Party 84,188 0.55% 3 2 Increase 2
DMK Backed Independents 70,665 0.46% 2 2 Increase 2
Indian National Congress
Seats: 51
Seat Change: Decrease 84
Popular Vote: 6,293,378
Popular Vote %: 41.10%
Indian National Congress 6,293,378 41.10% 232 51 Decrease 84
Others
Seats: 4
Seat Change: Decrease 4
Independent 591,214 3.86% 246 1 Decrease 4
Communist Party of India 275,932 1.80% 32 2 Steady
Forward Bloc 44,714 0.29% 1 1 Steady
Republican Party of India 31,286 0.20% 13 0 Steady
Bharatiya Jana Sangh 22,745 0.15% 24 0 Steady
Total 11 Political Parties 15,310,702 100% 234 Increase 28
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By constituency

** Muslim League Candidates contesting as independents[25]
* DMK backed Independents[26]
More information Assembly Constituency, Winner ...
  • Winner, runner-up, voter turnout, and victory margin in every constituency
Assembly Constituency Winner Runner Up Margin
#k Name Candidate Party Votes % Candidate Party Votes %
1WashermanpetM. VedachalamDMK34,57150.7M. Mayandi NadarINC27,32940.087,242
2HarbourH. BaigIndependent29,36051.69K. S. G. Haja ShareefINC25,51044.913,850
3Basin BridgeM. R. KannanDMK40,10953.81K. RamdasINC30,75741.269,352
4Park TownH. V. HandeSWA29,14451.57T. N. AnandanayakiINC26,46546.832,679
5PeramburSathyavani MuthuDMK40,36454.19D. SulochanaINC33,67745.216,687
6PurasawalkamV. S. GovindarajanDMK41,27258.04DamodaranINC29,04640.8512,226
7EgmoreA. V. P. AsaithambiDMK36,13354.2J. VencatachellumINC29,18743.786,946
8Thousand LightsK. A. MathiazhaganDMK39,51860.27M. SivarajINC25,37038.6914,148
9TriplicaneV. R. NedunchezhiyanDMK38,72159.41M. S. SammandappaINC26,02739.9312,694
10MylaporeArangannalDMK37,49857.02V. R. RadhakrishnanINC28,27042.989,228
11Thiyagaraya NagarM. P. SivagnanamDMK37,66257.36K. M. SubramaniamIndependent27,66942.149,993
12SaidapetM. KarunanidhiDMK53,40160.96S. G. VinayagamurthiINC32,91937.5820,482
13GummidipoondiK. VezhavendanDMK35,88752.57KamalambujammalINC31,52746.194,360
14PonneriP. NagalingamDMK37,74656.61T. P. ElumalaiINC27,75141.629,995
15ThiruvottiyurA. P. ArasuDMK51,43761.23V. VenkateswaraluINC32,56438.7718,873
16St Thomas MountM. G. RamachandranDMK54,10666.67T. L. RaghupathyINC26,43232.5727,674
17ThiruporurM. AdhiDMK39,04760.03N. M. ManivaramaINC22,63134.7916,416
18ChengalpattuC. G. ViswanathanDMK43,42862.77T. NaickerINC19,87928.7323,549
19MaduranthakamKothandamDMK38,38259.2G. ReddyINC25,20038.8713,182
20AcharapakkamP. S. EllappanSWA38,22362.11P. SaradambalINC23,32237.8914,901
21UthiramerurK. M. RajagopalDMK47,68964.01O. S. ReddiarINC26,81435.9920,875
22KancheepuramN. KrishnanDMK 45,26656.78V. C. S. NayagarINC33,71642.311,550
23KunnathurM. GopalDMK47,77268.88P. AppavooINC20,56329.6527,209
24SriperumbudurD. RajarathinamDMK41,65554.13M. BhaktavatsalamINC32,72942.538,926
25KadambathurC. V. M. AnnamalaiDMK43,49966.68C. C. NaiduINC21,74133.3221,758
26ThiruvallurS. M. DorairajDMK40,68766.06V. S. ArunachalamINC19,03030.921,657
27TiruttaniK. VinayakamINC27,12340.34V. K. KuppuswamyDMK25,33737.681,786
28ArakkonamS. J. Ramaswamy MudaliDMK38,47852.78B. NaiduINC30,87042.357,608
29SholingurAranganathanDMK35,22551.67A. M. Ponnuranga MudaliarINC28,20141.377,024
30RanipetA. G. SahibIndependent30,01145.14S. K. SheriffINC28,95343.551,058
31ArcotArcot N. VeeraswamiDMK37,51460.13A. G. R. NaickerINC23,18437.1614,330
32KatpadiG. NatarajanDMK32,95253.06P. S. R. NaiduINC25,03240.37,920
33GudiyathamV. K. KothandaramanCPI(M)38,82561.21B. R. NaiduINC21,90134.5316,924
34PernambattuP. JayaramanDMK28,86854.75T. ManavalanINC19,95737.858,911
35NatrampalliT. C. T. GounderDMK29,21552.18R. C. S. GounderINC26,77647.822,439
36Tirupattur (Vellore)C. GounderDMK32,58949.8ShunmugamINC30,51246.622,077
37VaniyambadiRajamannarINC26,94650.77VadivelDMK25,30847.691,638
38AmburM. PanneerselvamDMK31,55456.35P. RajagopalINC 20,94737.4110,607
39KaniyambadiL. BalaramanINC29,51249.62T. ThiruvengadamDMK28,10047.241,412
40VelloreM. P. SarathyDMK39,86358.96J. MudaliarINC25,44937.6414,414
41AraniA. C. NarasimhanDMK38,03860.74T. B. J. ChettiarINC17,32027.6620,718
42CheyyarK. GovindanDMK37,06854.86K. M. KanganINC17,39525.7419,673
43VandavasiMuthulingamDMK38,62661.25A. AdineelamINC21,30033.7817,326
44PernamallurV. D. A. MudalyDMK29,41346.25P. RamachandranINC20,22531.89,188
45PolurS. KuppamalDMK33,29256.92S. M. AnnamalaiINC20,22434.5813,068
46ChengamP. S. SanthanamDMK29,82856.84A. ArumughamINC18,77335.7711,055
47ThandarambattuK. S. KandarINC29,52450.31R. DharmalingamDMK28,18548.031,339
48KalasapakkamS. MurugaiyanINC32,69751.37M. SundarasanDMK20,55432.312,143
49TiruvannamalaiD. VijayarajINC38,15349.39P. U. ShanmugamDMK34,96845.263,185
50MelmalayanurR. R. MunusamyDMK33,11550.68K. G. GounderINC17,29526.4715,820
51GingeeV. MunusamiDMK39,51755.59G. RajaramINC27,90539.2611,612
52TindivanamK. RamamoorthyINC34,10651.59A. ThangaveluDMK32,00848.412,098
53VanurBalakrishnanDMK30,02350.06VelayudhamINC29,95349.9470
54KandamangalamM. RamanDMK35,61755.83M. S. SaraswathiINC28,18044.177,437
55VillupuramM. ShanmugamDMK37,60553.73V. P. S. GounderINC31,67445.265,931
56NellikuppamC. GovindarajanCPI(M)28,09047.24A. LakshminarayananINC23,11738.884,973
57CuddaloreEre. ElamvazhuthiDMK35,09355.09P. R. Seenivasa PadayachiINC27,84543.717,248
58PanrutiS. RamachandaranDMK43,74560.82S. V. Vadivelu PadayachiINC28,17939.1815,566
59KurinjipadiN. RajangamDMK25,47854.5M. JayaramanINC18,22638.997,252
60BhuvanagiriA. GovindarasanDMK38,79556.28D. RamachandranINC28,23440.9610,561
61KattumannarkoilS. SivasubramanianINC30,52148.34C. GovindarasuDMK30,38748.13134
62ChidambaramR. Kanagasabai PillaiINC34,91149.18P. PonchockalingamDMK33,35646.991,555
63VriddhachalamG. BoovaraghanINC42,23054.77M. SelvarajDMK33,36343.278,867
64MangaloreA. KrishnanDMK34,53856.67P. VedamanickamINC21,66935.5612,869
65UlundurpetM. Kandaswamy PadayachiINC26,79647.23V. S. PadayachiDMK25,23644.481,560
66TirukkoyilurE. M. SubramaniamINC34,25951.25A. S. KumarasamyDMK32,58648.751,673
67MugaiyurA. GovindasamyDMK37,59856.42N. K GanapathyINC25,55538.3512,043
68RishivandiyamM. AnandanDMK26,49149.6L. AnandanINC26,17349318
69SankarapuramS. P. PachaiyappanDMK28,29254.75D. MuthusamiINC22,77444.075,518
70KallakurichiD. K. NaiduDMK39,17556.38V. T. ElayapillaiINC28,64241.2210,533
71HosurB. VenkataswamiSWA21,53052.69K. A. PillaiINC19,32947.312,201
72UddanapalleK. S. KothandramiahSWA29,39165.75D. C. VijendriahINC15,31334.2514,078
73KrishnagiriP. M. M. GounderINC24,22047.31C. ManniappanDMK24,03546.95185
74KaveripatnamP. NaiduINC32,95352.74P. V. SeeramuluDMK29,53247.263,421
75UttangaraiT. T. GounderINC31,79149.06K. R. KrishnanDMK29,75145.912,040
76HarurN. TheerthagiriINC27,56548.09N. ArumugamDMK27,01747.14548
77DharmapuriM. S. GounterDMK36,25853.02D. N. VadivelINC29,56743.236,691
78PalacodeK. MurugesanINC29,18650.05M. B. MunusamyDMK26,09644.753,090
79PennagaramP. K. C. MuthusamyINC27,91349.2N. ManickamDMK26,57046.841,343
80MetturM. SurendranPSP30,63548.78K. K. GounderINC24,59739.176,038
81TaramangalamGovindanDMK33,22257.8M. S. KrishnanINC24,25942.28,963
82OmalurC. PalaniDMK28,12156.17C. GovindanINC17,87635.7110,245
83Salem IK. JayaramanDMK46,77657.92P. ThiagarajanINC32,71040.5114,066
84Salem I IE. R. KrishnanDMK38,78158A. R. GounderINC27,28540.8111,496
85YercaudV. ChinnasamyDMK25,12456.25PonnuduraiINC19,53743.755,587
86PanamarathupattiKaripatti T. PonnumalaiDMK34,59753.7C. SepperumalDMK26,87041.77,727
87VeerapandiVeerapandy S. ArumugamDMK42,68166.11N. S. SundararajanINC21,87633.8920,805
88EdappadiA. ArumugamDMK36,93554.7K. S. S. GounderINC30,59345.36,342
89SankariR. NallamuthuDMK30,11261.7A. RajendranINC17,17435.1912,938
90TiruchengoduT. A. RajaveluDMK42,47964.73T. P. NatesanINC22,13133.7220,348
91KapilamalaiC. V. VelappanDMK41,02652.25R. S. GounderINC32,73341.698,293
92NamakkalM. MuthuswamyDMK39,51054.37V. R. K. GounderINC31,65143.557,859
93SendamangalamA. S. GounderINC31,30850.62S. T. DoraiswamyCPI(M)30,53749.38771
94RasipuramP. PeriasamyDMK38,40252.53K. M. GounderINC30,87342.237,529
95AtturK. N. SivaperumalDMK40,45657.22M. P. SubramanyamINC30,25242.7810,204
96TalavasalMoo. MarimuthuDMK33,28955.39A. DoraisamyINC24,44840.688,841
97GudalurC. NanjamINC20,67549.24BommanSWA20,04747.74628
98UdhagamandalamK. BojanSWA37,52568.03T. K. GowderINC17,63631.9719,889
99CoonoorB. GowderDMK31,85558.74M. K. N. GowderINC22,38041.269,475
100MettupalayamT. T. S. ThippiahINC29,70945.42ThooyamaniDMK26,73640.872,973
101AvanashiR. K. GounderSWA31,92754.36K. M. GounderINC26,80845.645,119
102ThondamuthurR. ManickavachakamDMK42,26159.14V. E. NaiduINC26,84237.5615,419
103SinganallurP. VelusamyPSP38,37854.93V. K. L. GounderINC25,11535.9513,263
104PerurN. MarudachalamCPI(M)43,74061.49R. RayappanINC26,54837.3217,192
105Coimbatore (West)J, GovindarajuluDMK41,05963.85S. R. P. P. ChettiarINC23,25136.1517,808
106Coimbatore (East)M. BhupathyCPI(M)33,12250.81G. R. DamodaranINC27,47742.155,645
107KinathukadavuM. KannappanDMK40,64564.63S. GounderINC20,69132.919,954
108PollachiA. P. Shanmugasundara GoundarDMK37,48058.65E. GounderINC25,68840.211,792
109ValparaiE. RamaswamyDMK40,94566.24N. NachimuthuINC20,86833.7620,077
110UdumalaipettaiS. J. Sadiq PashaDMK39,79658.17K. RamasamiINC25,77837.6814,018
111DharapuramPalaniammalDMK42,43365P. VelusamyINC21,80033.3920,633
112VellakoilK. N. S. GounderDMK46,00962.44D. P. GounderINC26,57836.0719,431
113KangayamA. S. GounderINC24,80036.41VelusamiDMK24,65436.19146
114PongalurP. N. P. GounderDMK38,37161.75P. S. RangaswamyINC22,41436.0715,957
115PalladamK. N. Kumarasamy GounderPSP31,97746.99R. SengaliappanINC24,42135.897,556
116TiruppurS. DuraisamyDMK35,51850.05K. N. P. GounderINC21,37330.1214,145
117ModakkurichiK. R. NallasivamSSP45,30361.23C. KulandiammalINC25,44434.3919,859
118PerunduraiS. BalasubramanianSSP33,16447.41N. N. S. NandradiarINC30,03042.933,134
119ErodeM. ChinnaswamyDMK45,47159.14P. ArjunanINC25,80833.5719,663
120BhavaniA. M. RajaDMK43,35365.16P. K. MudaliarINC21,99933.0721,354
121AnthiyurE. M. NatarajanDMK34,87755.99GurumurthiINC27,40944.017,468
122GobichettipalayamK. M. R. GounderSWA31,97452.61M. GounderINC27,40345.094,571
123SatyamangalamP. G. KaruthirumanINC25,48449.22S. M. MarappanCPI(M)24,27846.891,206
124BhavanisagarRamarasanDMK26,98051.76M. VelusamyINC22,18742.574,793
125OddanchatramN. GounderDMK39,81755.55A. P. PalaniappanINC30,95343.188,864
126PalaniKrishnamoorthyDMK47,67165.8BalakrishnanINC24,78034.222,891
127PeriyakulamM. MethaDMK36,02354.85R. S. SubramaniamINC29,64845.156,375
128BodinayakkanurS. SrinivasanINC34,67149.83P. V. DurairajCPI(M)33,90548.73766
129CumbumRajangamDMK41,44059.66N. S. K. S. PandiarajINC28,02540.3413,415
130TheniP. T. R. Palanivel RajanDMK42,11158.73M. MalaichamiINC29,59741.2712,514
131AndipattiS. ParamasivamSWA35,35154.86A. ThiruvenkidasamyINC29,09145.146,260
132SedapattiV. T. ThevarSWA41,16763.84T. A. NadarINC21,55333.4219,614
133TirumangalamN. S. V. ChitthanINC20,31933.58M. P. RajanSWA17,06228.23,257
134UsilampattiP.K. Mookiah ThevarAIFB44,71472.11A. M. N. ThevarINC16,22526.1728,489
135NilakottaiA. MuniyandiDMK37,60157.71V. K. L. GounderINC25,11535.9512,486
136SholavandanP. S. ManiyanDMK45,22160.19R. S. ServaiINC28,72838.2416,493
137ThiruparankundramS. AgnirajuDMK49,16963.94S. SonaimuthuINC26,79234.8422,377
138Madurai WestN. SankaraiahCPI(M)46,88259.42M. ChelliahINC23,01229.1723,870
139Madurai CentralC. GovindarajanDMK39,56662.86V. SankaranINC22,78736.216,779
140Madurai EastK. P. JanakiammalCPI(M)32,17350.32A. G. SubburamanINC23,92937.438,244
141Melur (South)O. P. RamanDMK50,91363.41P. KakkanINC29,37636.5921,537
142Melur (North)P. MalaichamyDMK38,89556.15M. Andi AmbalamINC30,37643.858,519
143VadamaduraiP. T. NaickerINC30,50749.11V. S. LakshmananDMK28,65146.131,856
144DindigulA. BalasubramanayamCPI(M)42,38158.93O. C. PillaiINC29,53741.0712,844
145AthoorV. S. S. Mani ChettiyarDMK37,87950.7R. R. ReddiarINC36,12448.361,755
146VedasandurN. VaradarajCPI(M)30,06348.16S. N. RaoINC29,37247.05691
147AravakurichiS. K. GounderSWA46,61467.46V. P. GounderINC22,48232.5424,132
148KarurT. M. NallaswamyINC33,55244.95S. NallaswamyCPI(M)28,67738.424,875
149ThottiyamVadivelDMK39,70153.94T. VeerappanINC29,67040.3110,031
150MusiriP. S. MuthuselvanDMK32,61551.48K. V. K. ReddiarINC27,75043.84,865
151UppiliapuramT. P. AlagamuthuDMK43,45356.29A. V. MudaliarINC31,41640.6912,037
152PerambalurJ. S. RajuDMK33,65751.03M. AyyakannuINC28,86443.764,793
153VarahurR. NarayananDMK32,84649.64M. V. PerumalINC20,53331.0312,313
154AndimadamK. N. RamachandranDMK32,25348.25N. ManickamDMK26,57046.845,683
155JayankondamK. A. A. K. MoorthyDMK34,75152.57S. RamasamiINC28,79143.565,960
156AriyalurR. KaruppiamINC26,44037.37G. SepperumalDMK25,01735.361,423
157LalgudiD. NatarajanDMK37,35250.63D. R. UdaiyarINC34,71247.052,640
158SrirangamS. RamalingamINC34,47450.48P. PonchockalingamDMK33,35646.991,118
159Tiruchirappalli IM. S. ManiDMK 34,50452.07A. S. G. L. PiliaiINC31,19947.083,305
160Tiruchirappalli IiR. NagasundaramDMK26,04846.08M. K. M. A. SalamINC18,84233.337,206
161ThiruverumburV. SwaminathanINC33,51350.15K. KamakshiDMK28,88443.224,629
162KulithalaiM. KandaswamyDMK36,12049.68P. E. S. ReddiarINC32,30544.433,815
163KrishnarayapuramP. SoundarapandiyanDMK28,44448.72T. V. SannasiINC25,90344.372,541
164KadavurKaruraigiri MuthiahINC35,10254.94Anbil P. DharmalingamDMK28,78845.066,314
165ViralimalaiS. S. ThethuvandarDMK30,28849.63P. P. GounderINC26,35443.193,934
166ThirumayamPonnambalamDMK44,51162.79V. RamiahINC24,29034.2620,221
167AlangudiK. V. SubbiahDMK32,98450.64T. A. S. ThangaveluINC32,14849.36836
168PudukkottaiR. V. ThondaimanINC45,34262.07ThiagarajanDMK25,25534.5720,087
169ThiruvaiyaruG. M. SethurarDMK37,69351.94K. B. PalaniINC34,16547.083,528
170ThanjavurA. Y. S. Parisutha NadarINC33,22853.36S. NatarajanDMK28,71746.124,511
171PapanasamR. S. MooppanarINC41,32356.57A. M. SaliIndependent31,07742.5410,246
172ValangimanN. SomasundaramDMK34,43653.1R. SubramaniamINC30,41846.94,018
173KumbakonamN. KasiramanINC37,27650.63K. S. ManiDMK36,08349.011,193
174AduthuraiA. MarimuthuINC36,53748.52M. G. ManiDMK31,96542.454,572
175SirkazhiK. B. S. ManiIndependent34,31658.23R. ThangaveluINC21,50236.4812,814
176SembanarkoilS. GanesanDMK40,45365.29S. RamalingamINC21,50634.7118,947
177MayiladuthuraiN. KittappaDMK33,72151.21M.R.KrishnappaINC 30,37946.143,342
178KuttalamG. B. MohanCPI(M)31,54853.99M. SivakadakshamINC24,81242.476,736
179KudavasalC. KrishnamoorthiDMK34,88054.96M. D. T. PillaiINC28,58545.046,295
180NannilamP. JayarajINC26,05346.36T. P. RamachandranCPI(M)19,57134.836,482
181ThiruvarurP.S. DhanushokodyCPI(M)30,51048.04Vedaiyan. VINC27,95644.022,554
182NagapattinamK. R. GnanasambandanCPI(M)36,59656.4R. R. V. NaiduINC26,46240.7810,134
183VedaranyamP. V. ThevarINC25,94238.71M. MeenakshisundaramDMK25,67838.32264
184ThiruthuraipoondiN. DharumalingamDMK23,72838.04K. C. ManaliCPI22,22635.631,502
185KotturA. K. SubbaihCPI28,15642.47C. M. AmbikapathyINC22,62734.135,529
186MannargudiT. S. Swaminatha OdayarINC32,48150.1S. NarayanaswamyDMK31,55848.67923
187OrathanaduL. GanesanDMK45,23260.82M. D. PillaiINC29,13939.1816,093
188GandharvakottaiR. R. DuraiINC34,66552.68D. G. KalingararDMK30,43446.254,231
189PattukkottaiA. R. MarimuthuPSP35,19854.6N. RamasamyINC28,05643.527,142
190PeravuraniM. KrishnamurthyDMK35,50545.4A. V. ServaiINC26,38733.749,118
191AranthangiA. ThurairasanDMK42,94353.11K. B. DervaikararINC36,52245.176,421
192Tiruppattur (Sivaganga)S. MadhavanDMK40,17058.73V. S. S. ChettiarINC26,53238.7913,638
193KaraikudiS. MeiyappanSWA38,31058.73C. V. C. V. V. ChettiarINC21,99233.7116,318
194TiruvadanaiK. AmbalamSWA37,55652.21M. ArunachalamINC33,58746.693,969
195IlayangudiV. MalaikannanDMK40,46157.44S. RamachandranINC 29,97842.5610,483
196RamanathapuramT. ThangappanDMK35,88056.82S. R. SethupathyINC27,27043.188,610
197KadaladiM. AlangaramDMK38,68161.5K. ParamalaiINC20,55632.6818,125
198MudukulathurR. R. ThevarSWA33,79053.17S. A. ServaiINC22,50035.411,290
199ParamakudiT. K. SiraimeetanDMK40,42856.67R. ThavasiINC25,96236.3914,466
200SivagangaS. SethuramanDMK41,60459.22R. V. SwaminathanINC28,65440.7812,950
201ManamaduraiK. CheemaichamySWA30,75244.42C. B. RenaINC30,29943.77453
202KariapattiA. R. PerumalSWA28,48445.09P. M. BaskaranINC27,36643.321,118
203AruppukottaiS. S. BharathiSWA34,15354.68T. K. SundarmINC25,01240.049,141
204VirudhunagarP. SeenivasanDMK33,42149.9K. KamarajINC32,13647.981,285
205SatturS. Ramaswamy NaiduSWA45,22364.11R. Krishnasamy NaiduINC25,31335.8919,910
206SivakasiS. Alagu ThevarSWA38,41655.73R. R. ThevarINC26,91839.0511,498
207SrivilliputhurK. A. A. GurusamyDMK36,73253.34S. P. DharmarajINC27,79140.368,941
208RajapalayamA. A. S. RajaIndependent38,93653.29P. A. A. RajaINC25,67535.1413,261
209VilathikulamM. RathinasabapathyDMK23,90537.47M. P. S. ReddiarIndependent20,35031.93,555
210KovilpattiS. AlagarsamyCPI33,31155.02V. O. C. A. PillaiINC22,88537.810,426
211OttapidaramM. MuthiahSWA25,93745.45S. DhanushkodiINC20,81436.475,123
212SankarankoilP. DurairajDMK37,17362.79P. UrkavalanINC 19,21132.4517,962
213VasudevanallurA. VelladuraiDMK33,86550.24M. P. SwamyINC26,88539.896,980
214KadayanallurA. R. Subbiah MudaliarIndependent36,34949.89S. M. A. MajidINC35,90349.28446
215TenkasiI. A. Chidambaram PillaiINC 34,56149.86K. M. K. SamsudinDMK33,81848.79743
216AlangulamAladi ArunaDMK33,50951.26A. B. BalaganINC30,93847.322,571
217AmbasamudramG. G. S. DikshidarINC30,68246.35A. NallasivanCPI(M)28,16942.552,513
218CheranmahadeviD. S. AdhimoolamSWA36,20653.78S. ChellapandianINC29,83144.316,375
219GangaikondanA. KaruppiahDMK34,79759.59M. ChellappaINC21,57636.9513,221
220TirunelveliA. L. SubramanianDMK41,58961.74M. S. M. PillaiINC25,36437.6516,225
221MelapalayamM. M. P. MohammedIndependent36,12355.04S. R. ReddiarINC27,99942.668,124
222SrivaikuntamS. P. AdithanarDMK41,82862.57R. NadarINC22,76734.0619,061
223ThoothukkudiM. S. SivasamiDMK41,85160.61S. P. NadarINC27,19339.3914,658
224TiruchendurE. FernandoDMK39,61956.06S. NadarINC28,97140.9910,648
225SattangulamMartinINC31,14352.51AdithanDMK26,84645.274,297
226NanguneriN. DuraipandianINC33,26953.34T. G. NadarDMK29,09746.664,172
227RadhapuramN. SoundarapandianINC31,58850.44V. KarthesanDMK31,04049.56548
228KanniyakumariB. M. PillaiINC37,99856.89S. M. PillaiSWA28,26042.319,738
229NagercoilM. C. BalanDMK36,50255.05T. NadarINC29,81044.956,692
230ColachelA. Chidambaranatha NadarINC29,32548.37S. RetnarajSWA27,87945.991,446
231PadmanabhapuramV. GeorgeINC24,66146.06M. M. AliCPI(M)17,73833.136,923
232ThiruvattarJ. JamesINC29,34554.47D. GnanasingamoniCPI(M)21,25339.458,092
233VilavancodeR. Ponnappan NadarINC27,51156.19P. M. N. PillaiIndependent16,18433.0511,327
234KilliyoorWilliamINC21,42342.4PaniadimaiSWA15,76731.25,656
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Analysis

The effective grass roots campaigning by the DMK and the political acumen of Annadurai, defeated the Congress and its leader M. Bhaktavatsalam. The popularity of the United Front was so large that they were able to win an absolute majority in ten out of the 14 districts in the state, while Congress could not accomplish that in a single district. This was largely due to the fact that the United Front was able to capitalize on its growing support in large towns and cities, combined with the decline in Congress support in its traditional Schedule Caste constituencies.[24]

Margin of Victory

The following table shows the number of seats won by corresponding parties, by the margin of votes.[24]

More information Party, Less than 500 ...
Party Less than 500 500-1000 1000-3000 3000-5000 5000-10000 10000-20000 20000+
DMK 3 1 10 9 42 56 17
SWA 5 1 5 8 1
INC 5 5 20 10 5 3 1
CPI(M) 1 1 4 4 1
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Notable losses

The former Chief Minister and prominent Indian National Congress leader, K. Kamaraj, lost his seat in the Virudhunagar by a margin of 1,285 votes to DMK's student leader, P. Seenivasan. Just days before the election, Kamaraj was injured in an accident and was unable to campaign, leading to his well-known remark that he would "win lying down" (i.e., without campaigning efforts). (Tamil: படுத்துக் கொண்டே ஜெயிப்பேன்).[7] He lost the election along with the incumbent Chief Minister M. Bakthavatsalam, who lost his seat in Sriperumbudur to D. Rajarathinam from the DMK by 8926 votes. Except for G. Bhuvaraghan (the minister for Information and Publicity), all ministers of the outgoing Bakthavatsalam cabinet were defeated in this election.[27][28]

There was a post-result wall-painting in Virudhunagar by DMK which said "படிக்காத காமராஜரை படித்த இளைஞன் சீனிவாசன் தோற்கடித்தார்!" ( The illiterate Kamaraj was defeated by Graduate Youth Sreenivasan!). The Congress replied with "படிக்காத முதல்வர் காமராஜர் அன்று கட்டிய அரசு கல்விக்கூடங்களில் படித்து பட்டம் வாங்கிய இளைஞன் சீனிவாசன், இப்போது அதே காமராஜரை தோற்கடித்தான்" (The Seenivasan who studied and graduated in Education Institutes built under orders of then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu illiterate Kamaraj, has now defeated the same Kamaraj)

Government formation

The election results were announced on 23 February 1967, with the DMK securing an absolute majority. DMK's General Secretary, C.N. Annadurai, who had been serving as a Member of the Rajya Sabha and was newly elected to the Lok Sabha from Kanjipuram, led the party to increase its vote share to 40.6%, up from 27.1% in the 1962 election. Annadurai and the DMK had not anticipated such a decisive victory; Annadurai had contested to become a Member of Parliament rather than a Member of the Legislative Assembly. With no other consensus candidate for the Chief Minister role, Annadurai resigned from both his Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha seats. He was nominated as Chief Minister of Madras State and formally staked a claim to form the government on 2 March 1967 He was sworn in by Governor Ujjal Singh on 6 March 1967 in Rajaji Hall.[citation needed] He was later elected to the Madras Legislative Council on 22 April 1967.[29][30]

Annadurai's Cabinet

The council of ministers in C. N. Annadurai's cabinet (6 March 1967 – 10 February 1969) were all from the DMK and they are listed in the following table.[31]

More information Minister, Portfolios ...
Minister Portfolios
C.N. Annadurai Chief Minister, General Administration, Finance, Civil services, Planning, Police, Prohibition, Overseas Indians, Refugees and Evacuees
V. R. Nedunchezhiyan Education, Industries, Official Language, Textiles, Yarn, Handlooms, Mines and Minerals, Electricity, Iron and Steel, Companies and Religious Endowments
M. Karunanidhi Public Works, Highways, Transport, Ports and Minor Irrigation
K. A. Mathialagan Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes
A. Govindasamy Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Forests and Chinchona
S. J. Sadiq Pasha Public Health
Satyavani Muthu Harijan Welfare and Information
M. Muthuswamy Local Administration, Community Development, Khadi and Village Industries, Bhoodan and Gramdhan, Ex-servicemen
S. Madhavan Law, Co-operation and Housing
N. V. Natarajan Labour
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See also

References

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