Congress national president, K. Kamaraj faced an unexpected setback in the 1967 election in Virudhunagar — defeated by a young DMK student leader, P. Seenivasan, by a narrow margin of 1,285 votes. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu In Tamil Nadu’s intensely personality-centric politics, the electorate has repeatedly demonstrated that no leader, however towering, is beyond scrutiny. From the early years of Dravidian politics to more recent decades, voters have not hesitated to defeat stalwarts, even Chief Ministers. The first such instance dates back to the watershed 1967 Assembly elections, which fundamentally altered the State’s political landscape. For the first time in independent India, a regional party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power, dislodging the Indian National Congress. Since then no national party, independently, has been able to gain the confidence of the people. Published – April 15, 2026 06:00 am IST Share this: Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email More Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Click to share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Like this:Like Loading... Post navigation A new exhibition asks whether design, like corals, can give back to the planet The Hindu Morning Digest: April 15, 2026