T.N. Seshan, former chief election commissioner, passes away

T.N. Seshan, who redefined the role and visibility of the Election Commission, died on Sunday night in Chennai. He was 87 years old.

Seshan was born in Palakkad, Kerala. He was an IAS officer of the 1955 batch and joined the Tamil Nadu cadre. Seshan, who did a Masters degree in public administration from Harvard University on a scholarship, was appointed the cabinet secretary in 1989. Seshan was also a member of the Planning Commission.

He was chief election commissioner from 1990 to 1996. During Seshan's tenure, he cracked down on electoral malpractices such as capturing of polling booths by political parties and launched a host of electoral reforms. Seshan was also the subject of frenzied news coverage given run-ins with numerous politicians.

Seshan had contested the 1997 presidential election against K.R. Narayanan, who eventually won. Among major parties, Seshan received support only from the Shiv Sena in the presidential poll.

Former chief election commissioner of India S.Y. Quraishi was among the first ones to pay tributes to Seshan on Twitter. “Sad to announce that Shri TN Seshan passed away a short while ago. He was a true legend and a guiding force for all his successors. I pray for peace to his soul.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, too, took to Twitter to express their grief.