The T.N. link goes back to 1958

Vajpayee addressed meetings in Chennai and Salem then

A.B. Vajpayee, a friend and parliamentary colleague of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, wanted the latter’s birth centenary to be celebrated throughout the country.

Mr. Vajpayee first visited Tamil Nadu in 1958 as general secretary of the Jan Sangh.

A hit with old-timers

“He addressed meetings in Gokhale Hall in Chennai and Vijayaragavachariar Hall in Salem. His speech was translated by Thirukovilur Sundaram,” recalled K.N. Lakshmanan, former president of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit.

Mr. Vajpayee was close to many old-timers from Tamil Nadu in the party and would address them by their names.

TESO event in Madurai

He was in Madurai to address the Tamil Eelam Solidarity Organisation (TESO) conference in 1986.

As Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee had also attended The Hindu ‘s 125th year celebrations in Chennai in 2003.

The former Prime Minister’s last public meeting in Chennai was on September 17, 2005, held at the Island Grounds here in connection with the party’s national executive meeting.

On the occasion, Mr. Vajpayee praised music director Ilayaraja for his work on Tamil hymn collection Tiruvasagam , saying it combined the best of Carnatic and Western music.

He also recalled his association with Anna, describing him as a staunch nationalist and a champion of Tamil language and Dravidian ethos.

The birth centenary of Annadurai, which was then three years away, should be celebrated not only in Tamil Nadu but also throughout the country, he said.

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