Former Swatantra party MP Ramamoorthy passes away

P. Ramamoorthy. File | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy P. Ramamoorthy, former Member of Parliament representing the now-abolished constituency of Sivakasi, passed away at his residence in Sattur, Virudhunagar district, on Tuesday (September 1, 2026). He was 93. He is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter. The funeral will take place on Wednesday in Sattur. During the 1962 Assembly election, when he was a 29-year-old young man, Ramamoorthy shot to fame as he volunteered to take on the then Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, considered invincible. Though he lost in the poll, his decision to contest against Kamaraj received appreciation from his Swatantra Party.Five years later, the party fielded Ramamoorthy from the Sivakasi Lok Sabha constituency. This time, he was victorious, garnering about 1.94 lakh votes and defeating the nearest rival from the Congress, P. A. Nadar, by 31,600 votes. Only after Kamaraj won in the 1969 Nagercoil Lok Sabha byelection did Ramamoorthy meet him in the Parliament. Two years later, when the Swatantra party’s founder C. Rajagopalachari decided to team up with Kamaraj to face the 1971 poll, the Sivakasi parliamentarian could not come to terms with his leader’s decision, as his party had all along been working on the theme of anti-Congress and anti-Kamaraj. He then quit electoral politics. In an interivew with this journalist in April this year, Ramamoorthy pointed out he had nothing personal against the former Chief Minister, who was a “good man”, having done much for the State. “His hands were clean,” he had emphasised. Published - September 01, 2026 05:08 pm IST