The just concluded Assembly elections saw the Congress turning in one of its worst performances in the last four decades, securing just five out of the 63 seats it contested.
The party, which ruled the State from 1952 to 1967, lost the 1967 elections to the alliance led by C.N. Annadurai of the DMK. All India Congress Committee president K. Kamaraj himself lost to a little-known student leader, P. Srinivasan, in his home town Virudhunagar. At that time, the party had managed to secure 41.1 per cent of votes. Since then, the party has been on a downhill journey. It was also caught in alliance politics.
Following the split in the Congress triggered by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a breakaway group led by Kamaraj contested as the Congress (Organisation) in 1971 in alliance with a few other parties, including the Swathantra. Still it could win only 15 of the 201 seats it contested polling 34.91 per cent of the votes.
In 1977, after the death of Kamaraj, a section of the Congress (Organisation) led by G.K. Moopanar merged with the Congress headed by Indira Gandhi. Another section merged with the Janata Party. While the Congress secured 27 of the 198 seats it contested, the Janata Party emerged victorious in 10 of the 233 seats it contested. They secured 17. 5 per cent and 16.6 per cent votes.
In 1980, the Congress won 31 of the 114 seats it contested in alliance with the DMK. In 1984, it switched to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) alliance, securing 61 of the 73 seats in the backdrop of the sympathy wave sweeping the country following the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the ill health of AIADMK supremo M.G. Ramachandran.
The 1989 elections, which saw the split of the AIADMK, prompted the Congress to contest alone. It could secure only 26 of the 214 seats it contested.
The 1991 elections witnessed the Congress joining hands with the AIADMK once again and the sympathy wave following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi helped it to secure 60 of the 65 seats it was allocated.
The State Congress unit split when it sought to continue the alliance with the AIADMK in 1996. Thus, while it drew a blank after contesting 64 seats, the breakaway group, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), which fought in alliance with the DMK, won 39 of the 40 seats it contested.
Interestingly, the Congress and the TMC (M) switched over to the AIADMK front in 2001. While the Congress won seven of the 14 seats, TMC (M) emerged victorious in 23 of the 32 constituencies. Later, the TMC merged with the parent body.
In 2006, the Congress was allocated only 48 seats by its alliance leader DMK and it managed to win 34.
In the current elections, almost all its top leaders in the fray, including Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.V. Thangkabalu and former Union Minister S. Thirunavukkarasar, have been vanquished.
