Former Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan passes away

Tirunellai Narayana Iyer (TN ) Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner and the man responsible for ushering in electoral reforms passed away following a cardiac arrest. He was 87 years old and was not keeping good health for the past couple of years. TN Seshan was the 10th Chief Election Commissioner and had served form December 12, 1990, till December 11, 1996.

He was popularly known for enforcing Model Code of Conduct. Seshan also waged war against the tendency of politicians to flout the model code of conduct, which they were supposed to abide by. Polling was suspended in a Madhya Pradesh constituency as a serving governor campaigned for his son, ultimately leading to his resignation. In Uttar Pradesh, a minister was forced to quit the dais at a rally as the campaign period had just ended.

TN Seshan was a retired 1955 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Seshan had earlier served as the 18th Cabinet Secretary of India in 1989. He had also won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his services to the government in 1996.


Former CEC SY Quraishi said 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."