A ‘royal electoral battle’ that did not materialise in Thanjavur in 1979

Dark horse: Finally, the Congress (I) decided to field lesser-known S. Singaravadivelu, who defeated the DMK’s Anbil Dharmalingam comfortably. (Source: The Hindu Archives)

There have been suggestions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to enter the Lok Sabha through southern States. While Mr. Modi has never contested from any constituency in the south, Mr. Gandhi is a sitting MP from Wayanad in Kerala. Against this backdrop, it would be interesting to see how 45 years ago, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi desperately sought to go to the Lok Sabha from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.

What was more interesting was that not only her name was doing the rounds as the Congress (I) candidate in the run-up to the 1979 Thanjavur by-election there were also hints that DMK chief M. Karunanidhi himself would be the Opposition’s nominee, if she entered the fray. Eventually, neither the former Prime Minister nor Karunanidhi contested in the byelection held in June 1979. The turn of events that characterised the contest then eventually paved the way for the most unexpected happening: the coming-together of the Congress and the DMK a few months later.