From ‘virus’ to ‘tsunami’: How Tamil Nadu’s outgoing chief ministers, leaders viewed election results since 1967

DMK president MK Stalin, while recently commenting on Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) victory in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, called it a “new and attractive tsunami of illusions”. He also made it clear that by using the term “tsunami” he was not using it in a positive sense. “I only mean that it has caused great damage or harmed the interests of Tamil Nadu,” clarified Mr. Stalin.

Although his observation did not attract widespread public attention, it did not go unnoticed among perceptive observers of Tamil Nadu politics as several political figures including serving Chief Ministers who experienced electoral setbacks reacted in different ways.

M. Bhaktavatsalam | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

The most quoted reaction was that of M. Bhaktavatsalam: “I see the virus has spread all over Tamil Nad(u). I pray that God saves the people.” He made this remark after the 1967 Assembly elections, when the ruling Congress lost power to the 18-year-old DMK. It wasn’t that he made the statement out of any sense of bitterness. He offered congratulations to the winners. Although he later clarified that his use of the term “virus” was applicable to flaws in “our own organization and organizational approach”, according to The Hindu on 28 February, the former chief minister’s description was seen as an “uncharitable remark” by supporters of the Dravida Kazhagam and the DMK.

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Ten years later, it was the turn of the DMK, which was on the rise. Although the party was ousted from power in January 1976 by the imposition of President’s Rule and the dissolution of the Assembly, its leader M. Karunanidhi made a valiant effort to return to power and the party went on its own in the June 1977 Assembly elections. When the results were out, the AIADMK had won 130 seats. It had ties with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Preliminary Bloc, while the DMK secured 48 seats. Assuring people that the DMK will function as a responsible opposition, he expressed “satisfaction” with his party’s performance considering the “difficulties” it faced in the last 18 months.

Three years later, when the state again went to Assembly elections following the removal of the AIADMK regime in February, the return of the DMK (along with the Congress) to power was widely expected. But it was the AIADMK that returned to power. Karunanidhi attributed the success of his arch-rival to three election promises – providing a rupee a day to all unemployed, free supply of one kilogram of rice to all poor and waiving all loans taken by farmers. He added that one should not be disheartened by the results as success and defeat are not uncommon in politics according to The Hindu, June 3, 1980.

M. Karunanidhi, photographed in 1984 | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

Then came another upset for Karunanidhi during the simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections in 1984. The DMK, which led a coalition comprising the Janata Party, the Indian Union Muslim League and two left-wing parties, won 24 seats individually and its allies won 10 more seats. This defeat was much more crushing than the previous two. At the time, Karunanidhi wrote, as quoted by diplomat-turned-political writer R. Kannan in his “The DMK Years”, “Some votes decided the fate of Socrates by condemning him to death, but time made the Greek philosopher immortal. The difference between the two fronts was only 31 lakh, he said, adding that if the vote had been anything other than 16 lakh, the result would have been different.” However, the author adds: “But that was a counterfactual.”

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In June 1991, when the DMK faced an undermining in the Assembly elections, Karunanidhi, who had been ousted as Chief Minister five months earlier, was quoted by this newspaper as saying on 23 June 1991: although false propaganda and a wave of sympathy pushed the real issues to the background in the just-concluded elections, he considered it a defeat for his own party and a defeat for his own party. seat.”

Five years later, it was Jayalalithaa’s turn and she suffered a massive setback as she herself lost in the Bargur constituency and her party won only four seats. She accepted the verdict “with all humility” and at the same time thanked those who voted for her. she said her party would continue to work for the welfare of the people. The AIADMK firmly believed in the doctrine, vox populi vox dei (the voice of the people is the voice of God), quoted by The Hindu in a report dated 11 May 1996.

Jayalalithaa casts her vote in Madras May 2, 1996 | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

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At that time, some newspapers carried news that Jayalalithaa would leave Tamil Nadu forever. Reacting to the reports, she said that “as a person involved in public life, I will stay in Tamil Nadu and serve the people. There is no need for me to leave the state.”

In 2001, when Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK made a spectacular comeback, outgoing Chief Minister Karunanidhi said that there was “no ideological issue” and that Jayalalitha (who did not contest the polls due to her ineligibility for being convicted in two corruption cases) had abused the daily reported rejection of the 14th nomination in May. 2001.

Five years later, when her party lost power, Jayalalithaa said her organization, with 61 seats in the assembly, would function as a “strong opposition party”. In 2011, when the DMK lost power and was relegated to third place in the 23-seat Assembly, outgoing Chief Minister Karunanidhi said, “People have given me a good rest, I salute you. Ten years later, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, as he relinquished office, conveyed his best wishes to his successor, Mr. Stalin, who had just been succeeded by C. Joseph Vijay.”

Published – 20 May 2026 06:04 IST