Former Minister and a veteran AIADMK member, R. Vadivel, who shot to fame with his victory in the by-election to Vaniyambadi, died on the evening of Monday, November 27, 2023, due to age related issues. He was declared dead on arrival at a private hospital in Ambur of Tirupattur district. He was 85. He is survived by two sons and two daughters.
In May 2002, when the by-election took place following the death of M. Abdul Latheef of the Indian National League (INL), then Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary, Jayalalithaa announced the candidature of Vadivelu, brushing aside the claim of her ally, the INL. She also deviated from the conventional electoral practice of fielding a Muslim candidate in Vaniyambadi, where Muslims are said to account for nearly one-third of the population. Eight ministers, 36 MLAs and four MPs were drafted into poll work. Vadivel won by a margin of about 19,720 votes. At that time, his election had triggered a debate about the polarisation of Hindu votes.
In November that year, Vadivel was made Rural Industries Minister but he lost his post in June the following year. In 2006, he was not fielded in Vaniyambadi again. This time, Jayalalithaa went back to the tradition of giving the ticket to a Muslim candidate who lost by a margin of nearly 24,000 votes.
In a statement, the party’s general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, condoled the death of Vadivel.
