S.G. Vinayagamurthi, veteran Congress leader, died here on Monday night due to age-related issues. He was 91. He is survived by three daughters and three sons.
Known to be a no-nonsense person, Mr Vinayagamurthi was a relentless worker, A. Gopanna, vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) said.
Born in Washermenpet, Chennai, in October 1930, the veteran leader, whose roots were from Virudhunagar district, was drawn to the Congress party in his early years. He first became the general secretary of the then Chennai city’s youth wing of the party. He got elected to the Chennai Corporation Council thrice, starting from 1959.
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He later became the floor leader of the party in the Corporation Council. In 1967, he was elected president of the North Chennai unit of the Congress party.
One of the highlights of his political career was that in the 1967 Assembly election, he was fielded in Saidapet against M. Karunanidhi, who had by then emerged a prominent leader of the DMK. “It was an intensely-fought contest,” recalled Mr Gopanna. The Congress leader lost in the election by about 20,480 votes and Karunanidhi went on to become Public Works Department Minister first and Chief Minister two years later.
In the 1971 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress leader tried his luck from the North Chennai constituency against Nanjil Manoharan of the DMK and again, tasted defeat.
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At the time of the Congress split in 1969, Vinayagamurthi identified himself with the Congress (Organisation) led by K. Kamaraj. Seven years later, when a major faction of the Congress (O), headed by G.K. Moopanar, merged itself with the Congress, Vinayagamurthi chose to remain in the other faction, which was led by P. Ramachandran and got subsumed in the Janata Party in 1977. When Ramachandran joined the Congress led by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in September 1980, Vinayagamurthi followed suit. Subsequently, he was made the president of the State unit of the Seva Dal of the party.
After losing again in the Park Town assembly constituency in 1989, the veteran leader finally made it to the House in 2001 as the nominee of the Tamil Maanila Congress (M), which was led by Moopanar. He defeated the DMK’s sitting legislator and seasoned film director, T. Rajhendharr, by a margin of about 6,400 votes. In the TMC, Vinayagamurthi held the post of vice president.