The Andipatti Assembly constituency became a part of Tamil Nadu’s political history when it elected former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran in 1984 while he was undergoing treatment in the United States. The constituency has once again gained attention as two brothers — A. Lohirajan and A. Maharajan — are entering the fray as candidates of rival parties.
While Mr. Lohirajan has been with the AIADMK since 1985 and is a staunch supporter of Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, his elder brother Maharajan has been with the DMK since the mid-1970s. He wields clout among the Piramalai Kallar community in the town, and has served as the Andipatti panchayat union chairman.
But this is by no means a first. Tamil Nadu has seen many such instances of political divisions within families.
For instance, BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan is the daughter of veteran Congress leader Kumari Anandan. Her uncle, H. Vasanthakumar, is a Congress MLA.
“I was working for the BJP even when I was practising medicine. My father, while touring Ramanathapuram, came to know about my affiliation with the BJP when newspapers carried articles about the new faces of the party. He called me over phone (to express his disapproval), and we did not speak for six months,” Ms. Soundararajan told The Hindu on Monday.
Though political differences had resulted in a lack of harmony in the family, both she and her father remained loyal to their parties, she said.
Rebukes from mother
More than a decade ago, former TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan launched a virulent attack against then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. She did not react. Instead, his mother, Sulochana Sampath, who was heading the AIADMK’s women’s wing, issued statements sharply attacking Mr. Elangovan, who would counter them with similar barbs.
Facing arrest
P. Subbarayan, the then Premier of Madras Presidency, was a member of the Congress, but formed the government with the support of the Justice Party. His son and daughter — Mohan Kumaramangalam and Parvathi Krishnan — joined the Communist party and were arrested during Subbarayan’s rule.
While Mohan Kumaramangalam, a barrister, subsequently joined the Congress and became a Minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, Parvathi, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Coimbatore constituency, remained a communist.
Mohan Kumaramangalam’s son Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, a Congress Minister, joined the BJP and became a Minister in Vajpayee’s cabinet. His son Mohan Kumaramangalam is now in the Congress, and was fielded in the Salem Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Down south, Thamaraikani, AIADMK MLA and a hardcore MGR loyalist, joined the DMK after falling out with Jayalalithaa. But his son Inbatamilan remained with the AIADMK and even dropped his father’s initials from his name.
Subsequently, he too joined the DMK.