CHENNAI: If the 1967 elections dethroned the Congress in Tamil Nadu, the 1971 elections nearly demolished the party. The main reason was a vertical split in the grand old party at the national level, thanks to the conflict between Indira Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders such as K Kamaraj. Kamaraj and other senior leaders had formed a splinter party - Indian National Congress (Organisation).
The 1971 elections were held under extraordinary circumstances. Indira Gandhi had dissolved Parliament and sought a fresh mandate in view of the legal hurdles to her move to abolish privy purse to rulers of erstwhile princely states.
In Tamil Nadu too, M Karunanidhi, who took charge as Chief Minister after the demise of CN Annadurai in 1969, wanted to seek a fresh mandate with the party under his leadership. With his clever manoeuvring, he struck an alliance deal with the Indira Gandhi-led Congress, but on condition that the national party would not contest any of the Assembly seats.
In the parliamentary elections, the Congress was allocated just 10 seats. This had hardly irked Indira Gandhi for she was apparently keen only on winning the national elections.
The Kamaraj-led INC (O) was the main opponent. Beside the Congress (I), Karunanidhi, who was just two years into Chief Ministership, had formed a rainbow alliance with the CPI, Praja Socialist Party, Thamizharasu Kazhagam, Muslim League and Forward Bloc. To counter this, Kamaraj had to enter into an alliance with his arch-rival C Rajagopalachari’s Swatantra party, Republic Party and other smaller parties.
The DMK, led by its young leader Karunanidhi, smashed the combined might Kamaraj and Rajagopalachari. The DMK won 23 of 39 MP seats. Congress won 9 and CPI 4. Kamaraj’s INC (O) just got one MP. In the Assembly, the DMK clinched a massive haul of 184.
Through the INC (O)’s tally dwindled, the party had secured a vote-share of nearly 35 per cent. This meant that still a substantial section of the electorate preferred Kamaraj. But the lack of a strong second-rung leadership in Kamaraj’s party and the emergence of MGR, ushered in an era where the Congress would play just a second fiddle.
