Name S. Ramasami Nationality Indian | Preceded by N. Sankara Reddi Premier K. Kamaraj | |
 | ||
Born 16 September 1918 ( 1918-09-16 ) Political party Tamil Nadu Toilers' PartyIndian National Congress | ||
Preceded by N. R. Lakshminarayanan | ||
S. S. Ramasami Padayatchi (16 September 1918 – 3 April 1992) was a politician from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was the founder of the Tamil political party Tamil Nadu Toilers' Party, which is considered to be a predecessor of Pattali Makkal Katchi.
Contents
- Early life
- Tamil Nadu Toilers Party
- In the Madras Legislative Assembly
- As Member of Parliament
- Family
- Death
- References
Early life
Padayatchiyar was born in a Vanniyar family at the South Arcot district of Madras Presidency on 16 September 1918. He studied till high school and did not pursue any further education. He entered politics and founded the Tamil Nadu Toilers Party in 1951.
Tamil Nadu Toilers Party
Tamil Nadu Toilers Party was created by Padayatchiyar and members of the Vanniyar caste during the 1950s. In 1951, Vanniyars convened a major conference of the Vanniyar Kula Kshatriya Sangam. M. A. Manickavelu Naicker, a lawyer and S. S. Ramasami Padayatchi, 33-year-old high school graduate, Chairman of the Cuddalore Municipal school and member of the South Arcot district board were participants of the conference the conference among others. The conference which intended to organise Vanniyars on a statewide basis failed due to traditional local loyalties. South Arcot and Salem Vanniyars under Padayatchiyars's leadership formed Tamil Nadu Toilers party where as Vanniyars from North Arcot and Chengalpattu under Naicker formed Commonweal Party.
In the Madras Legislative Assembly
Padayatchiyar was unsure over the choice of alliances. However, initially, he was highly skeptical of the Indian National Congress and criticized the Commonweal Party for establishing an alliance with the Congress. But he significantly modified his stance when C. Rajagopalachari resigned as the Chief Minister of Madras state. He proposed negotiations with Rajaji's successor K. Kamaraj and eventually, merged his party with the Congress accepting an appointment as Minister of Local Self-Government.
During the 1962 elections, Padayatchiyar quit the Congress and revived the Tamil Nadu Toilers Party. He concluded an alliance with the Swatantra Party and contested the elections as an ally of the Swarajya Party. However, Tamil Nadu Toilers Party performed poorly in the 1962 elections and Padayatchiyar himself lost his seat. During the 1967 elections, Padayatchiyar approached the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam offering his support. But the DMK rebuffed him saying that there were enough candidates from the Vanniyar community in the DMK and the support of the Tamil Nadu Toilers Party would not be needed. The DMK performed well in the elections and captured power in the state.
As Member of Parliament
After a brief lull, Padayatchiyar returned to politics in 1980. He returned to the Indian National Congress and contested in the Lok Sabha elections from Tindivanam and was elected to the lower house of Indian Parliament. Ramasami was re-elected in 1984 and served from 1980 to 1989.
Family
Ramasami Padayatchiyar married Papa Ammal and had two sons and one daughter, Vimal.
Death
Ramasami Padayatchiyar died on 3 April 1992 at Cuddalore.