Former Chief Election Commissioner Tirunellai Narayanaiyer Seshan died in Chennai on 10th November 2019. He was 87. He will be remembered as someone who cracked the whip on money and muscle power in elections and proved to be a nemesis for political parties. His wife, Jayalakshmi, had died early last year.

• Seshan’s work as CEC got international recognition when he was given the Ramon Magsaysay award for 1996.
• He was the 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India (1990–96). He reformed elections by largely ending its malpractices in the country.and redefined the status and visibility of the Election Commission of India. He also served as the 18th Cabinet Secretary of India in 1989.
• He was the only one to hold the post of CEC for six years from 1990 to 1996 in the last 50 years.
• He was known to follow a no-nonsense approach, and had enforced, in his own way, discipline on political parties and contestants. He earned the wrath of several politicians.
• In July 1997, he had unsuccessfully contested in the Presidential election against K.R. Narayanan, who was backed by almost all the parties in the country.