According to the police, the women attempted to set themselves ablaze after the chief minister left the venue at the end of the function.
Parvathy and her daughter-in-law, Kanagalakshmi, present at the MGR Centenary function at Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district, proceeded to the press gallery and doused themselves with kerosene.
The police present at the venue acted swiftly and prevented them from setting themslves on fire, a police release said.
"Even as the police were searching for Muniyasamy, his mother and wife (Kanagalakshmi) staged the suicide bid drama to help him evade arrest," it said.
There were other cases pending against Muniyasamy, including attempt to murder, it said.
The incident, which caused a flutter, came on a day when a woman and her two children, died after she and her husband attempted self-immolation at the Tiruneveli district collectorate to protest against alleged inaction on their complaint against an usurer.