Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan, popularly known as TN Seshan, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday at his Chennai residence. He was 87 years old. TN Seshan was the 10th Chief Election Commissioner and had served form December 12, 1990, till December 11, 1996.
"Sad to announce that Shri TN Seshan (former Chief Election Commissioner of India) 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," SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, was among the first to tweet about his death.
The legendary Seshan was not keeping good health for the past couple of years and he passed away at about 9.30pm, a senior police official told PTI.
Known for his no-nonsense attitude, he was largely confined to his home in Chennai for the past several years due to old age.
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.
Born in December 1932 in Thirunellai, Palakkad district in Kerala, TN Seshan was a graduate in Physics and worked for three years as a demonstrator at the Madras Christian College. This is when he passed the IAS exam.
TN Seshan also studied at Harvard University on Edward S. Mason Fellowship where he earned a master's degree in public administration.
Before he was appointed as India's chief election official, he was the Cabinet Secretary, the senior most position in the civil services.
In 1997, Seshan had unsuccessfully contested the Presidential election against KR Narayanan.
Here's how prominent personalities paid tributes to TN Seshan:
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