PoliticsMadras State (Congress era)
Kamaraj becomes Congress president and 'kingmaker'
As president of the Indian National Congress, K. Kamaraj guided the selection of two Prime Ministers.
K. Kamaraj, who had stepped down as Chief Minister under the Kamaraj Plan, led the Indian National Congress as its president between 1964 and 1967. When Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964, Kamaraj turned down the prime ministership and played a key part in choosing Lal Bahadur Shastri, and then Indira Gandhi in 1966. He became known as the kingmaker for this. A subsequent falling-out with Indira Gandhi resulted in the 1969 split of the Congress.
