How Janaki Ramachandran became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after MGR’s demise

Looking back at the events immediately following the death of former Prime Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) in December 1987, veteran politician ‘Panruti’ S. Ramachandran recalls that it was Janaki Ramachandran who single-handedly took the decision to replace her husband, who was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 to 1987.

In any discussion of the current situation in the AIADMK, we always witness references to Ms. Janaki’s short history in politics.

This episode was highlighted in recent interviews given by prominent personalities to certain social media channels. Industrialist Palani G. Periasamy talked about how MGR died on December 24, 1987 and was succeeded by Ms. Janaki.

Mr. Periasamy recalls being surprised when, two days after MGR’s death, Ms. Janaki informed him that he would become the Prime Minister. Ms. Janaki stated that she was “welcomed” by ‘Panruti’ Ramachandran, who was third in MGR’s Cabinet and held portfolios such as Electricity and Food.

S. Peter Alphonse, former Congress legislator and former chairman of the Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission, talked about the then Chief Minister of India R. Venkataraman’s advice to the Congress delegation on the rationale behind supporting the short-lived council of ministers led by Ms. Janaki. Not oblivious to her health and age, the President had told the delegation to influence the Congress to support her over the much younger Jayalalithaa (then spelled Jayalalitha), who later aspired to top the AIADMK.

Mr. Ramachandran admits that he and his wife met Ms. Janaki during his chat with this reporter, but denies the suggestion that the purpose of his meeting was to congratulate her. “We went there after MGR’s funeral. [Ramavaram Gardens, the residence of the former Chief Minister] We convey our moral support to him. But I got the shock of my life when she told me that she had decided to succeed her husband as Prime Minister,” recalls Mr. Ramachandran. The situation came to such an extent that she did not say anything before bidding farewell to him.

As an interim measure, Mr. Ramachandran supported the idea of ​​allowing ‘caretaker’ Chief Minister VR Nedunchezhian to serve with all the Ministers MGR had when he died. At that time, another senior Minister RM Veerappan (RMV) also harbored ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister.

Janaki Ramachandran handing over a statement to PU Shanmugham, the then Health Minister, announcing her decision to become Prime Minister, on 31 December 1987. Also seen is Local Government Minister RM Veerappan (seated right). | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

“A group loyal to Mr. Veerappan was under the impression that I was also in the race,” says the former Electricity Minister, adding that he had the support of Ministers like Water. Thirunavukkarasar (later S. Thirunavukkarasu) and KKSSR Ramachandran (currently a Minister in the DMK government).

Jayalalithaa was a key member of the group that wanted Nedunchezhian to become the Prime Minister. It was not surprising that the group later announced him as the general secretary of the party. When Ms. Janaki was sworn in as Prime Minister on January 7, 1988, Mr. Ramachandran was not in her Cabinet.

The senior leader observes that even in 1984, when MGR was hospitalized in the US, the AIADMK’s candidates for the Assembly elections were finalized by Ms. Janaki and Mr. Veerappan; This is a point that several others disagree with. JCD Prabhakar, former MLA from Villivakkam who was unsuccessful in the 1984 Assembly poll; CN Annadurai and R. Kannan, biographers of MGR and MGR’s deputy in the Prime Minister’s office, deny this point. But they agree that RMV plays a big role in selecting candidates.

Later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MG Ramachandran with his wife Janaki in Madras on 24 September 1985. | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

A powerful panel of Senior Ministers was formally focused on the candidates. But Mr. Prabhakar, the then undivided Chengalpattu district secretary of the party covering 17 constituencies in the Assembly, says most of the district secretaries were “RMV’s men”. When the panel interviewed them, they naturally introduced the RMV’s protégés. “That’s why 90-odd MLAs [out of 131] “We were with Ms. Janaki when the no-confidence motion was passed in January 1988,” he notes.

The former legislator, who sided with Ms. Janaki’s faction in 1988 and contested again from Villivakkam in the 1989 Assembly elections but lost, maintains that if he had actually been involved in the party ticket distribution in 1984, he would not have chosen to withdraw from politics immediately after the 1989 Assembly elections.” In fact, during the merger after the 1989 elections, he was offered the post of party president but he refused,” recalls Mr. Prabhakar, who was elected for the second term from Villivakkam.

Ms. Janaki remained inactive despite former bête noire Jayalalithaa’s appeal for her to reconsider her decision to quit politics.

While her aide recounts how many of MGR’s well-wishers advised Ms. Janaki not to venture into politics, he suspects she came to the conclusion that she would be the Prime Minister after having a one-on-one meeting with a senior Congress functionary from northern India. Venkataraman,”My presidential yearsHe notes that Ms. Janaki “was initially reluctant to assume the leadership, but was persuaded when she was warned to assume the leadership of her rival Jayalalitha.”[a]If he doesn’t agree, he can take control of the party.

A 2019 publication on MGR’s widow by his grand-nephew Kumar Rajendran carries an interview of her in a Tamil magazine in March 1988 get upHe stated that he entered politics only to ensure unity in the party. In fact, the “unity card” was played by him even before he became Prime Minister. According to Ms. Janaki, in a statement on the eve of taking over, appealed to all 131 AIADMK MLAs to “bury the hatchet”, forget their differences and rally around her and extend their wholehearted support and cooperation to her. Hindu On January 7.

Janaki Ramachandran, widow of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

The report stated that the party cadres accepted the request to shoulder the burden of the Government “in the interest of preserving unity” and to prevent the dissolution of the organization founded by MGR.

But even in 1986 there were whispers that Ms. Janaki and other members of MGR’s family were interfering. They created such a fuss that “the government issued two paid advertisements in the name of the prime minister in June. The first, published on June 13, instructed civil servants not to pressure his wife or other close relatives on official matters. It was Janaki who apparently owed the appointment of a constable,” writes Dr. In Kannan’s book “MGR: One Life.”

The Janaki regime, which lasted 24 days, was dismissed following turmoil in the Parliament on the confidence motion day on 28 January 1988. He stayed in politics for a year. When she miserably lost the 1989 Assembly poll in Andipatti constituency, which her husband represented between 1984-87, she realized that she was not cut out for electoral politics. The announcement that he was leaving politics was published on January 31, 1989, a few days after the survey results were announced.