1967 Elections
The fourth elections to the Madras Legislative assembly were held in February 1967. At the age of 88, Rajaji worked to forge a united opposition to the Indian National Congress through a tripartite alliance between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Swatantra Party and the Forward Bloc. The Congress party was defeated in Madras for the first time in 30 years and the coalition led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to power. C. N. Annadurai served as Chief Minister from March 6, 1967 till his death on February 3, 1969. Rajaji delivered a moving eulogy to Annadurai at his funeral.
The Swatantra party also did well in elections in other states and to the Lok Sabha, the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of India. It won 45 Lok Sabha seats in the 1967 general elections and emerged as the single largest opposition party. The principal opposition party in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, it also formed a coalition government in Orissa and had a significant presence in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.
Read more about this topic: C. Rajagopalachari
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