He was a long-standing leader of the Dravidian movement[2] and was the General Secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party (DMK) for nine terms.

He has held several cabinet ministerial portfolios in the Tamil Nadu government under M. Karunanidhi including Finance, Education and Health and Social Welfare.

He was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha the lower house of India's Parliament from Tiruchengode and was also a member of the Madras Legislative Council.

[citation needed] In his later years, Anbazhagan was in poor health, which minimized his political activities and public appearances, with the last one being on his 97th birthday on 19 December 2019.

[10][11] On 24 February 2020, his health deteriorated and became "extremely critical and unstable", and he was admitted at Apollo Hospital in Chennai for treatment.