V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (11 July 1920 – 12 January 2000) was an Indian politician and writer. Tamil sengunthar He served thrice as the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He served as a senior cabinet minister under the governments of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. For his literary contributions, he was also known as "Navalar" or the eloquent.

Life and career

Nedunchezhiyan was born at Thirukannapuram on 11 July 1920. He graduated with a master's degree and a doctorate in Tamil literature from Annamalai University. He became involved in politics while at the university and joined the Dravidar Kazhagam party in 1944. In 1949, C. N. Annadurai formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Nedunchezhiyen joined the party, acting as deputy general secretary until 1955. He was general secretary between 1955 and 1960 and then chairman of the party's general council until 1969. Nedunchezhiyan was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu in 1962. In 1967, he became the Minister of Education when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam took power. He was briefly acting Chief Minister for the state following C. N. Annadurai's death in 1969, taking the role until M. Karunanidhi was appointed.He then continued as a cabinet minister in the Karunanidhi cabinet until the DMK government was dissolved in 1976. Together with K. Rajaram, Nedunchezhiyan left the DMK to form a new political party called the Makkal Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, but it did not last long. The party merged with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which was in power by then, in 1978 and from 1980 Nedunchezhiyan served as a Minister of Finance under the leadership of AIADMK's M. G. Ramachandran, until 1987. Nedunchezhiyan was a deputy general secretary of the AIADMK from 1977 and 1989, and became a general secretary in 1989. He became acting Chief Minister in 1988 when Ramachandran died. Nedunchezhiyan briefly aligned himself with the J. Jayalalithaa-led faction within the AIADMK but was expelled from the party in 1988 after disputes with its leaders. He contested the 1989 state elections and later that year rejoined the party fold after Jayalalithaa had successfully reunified it. He then served as Minister of Finance again between 1991 and 1996. Later, he served as General Council Leader Of the AIADMK from 1996 until his death.

Personal life

He married his wife, Visalakshi (AIADMK Spokesperson), in 1950, and they had one son. Indian tennis player Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan is his grandson.

Death

He died of heart failure at Apollo Hospital on 12 January 2000. At that time, AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa sent a letter to Karunanidhi, who was the Chief Minister, requesting a burial site to bury Nedunchezhiyan next to Anna. But the then DMK government rejected the request. After this, Nedunchezhiyan's body was cremated at Besant Nagar cemetery.

In popular culture

The character Madhivanan, played by Rajesh, in the 1997 film Iruvar is loosely based on Nedunchezhiyan.

Books published

Name of the book with year of publication. Biography of #RevolutionaryBharatidasan (1994) After His- # Thirukkural Novel Text (Portable Edition) (2001)

Electoral career

Legislative Assembly Elections Contested