All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Abbreviation	AIADMK
Leader	Coordinator : O. Panneerselvam (Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) Joint Coordinator : Edappadi K. Palaniswami (Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) Deputy Coordinators : K. P. Munusamy and R. Vaithilingam
Presidium	Interim Chairman : A. Thamizhmahan Hussain
Parliamentary Chairperson	M. Thambidurai (Former Dy. Speaker of the Lok Sabha)
Lok Sabha leader	P. Ravindhranath
Rajya Sabha leader	A. Navaneethakrishnan
Treasurer	O. Panneerselvam (Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu)
Founder	M. G. Ramachandran (Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu)
Founded	17 October 1972 (49 years ago) (1972-10-17)
Split from	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Headquarters	Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai, 226, Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Royapettah, Chennai - 600014, Tamil Nadu, India
Newspaper	Namadhu Puratchi Thalavi Amma (Daily journal) News J (TV channel)
Student wing	AIADMK Students Wing
Youth wing	M.G.R. Youth Wing
Women's wing	AIADMK Women's Wing
Labour wing	Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai
Ideology	Social democracy Populism[1] Federalism[2] Dravidianism Social justice[2]
Political position	Centre[2] to centre-left[2]
Colours	Green
ECI Status	State Party[3]
Alliance	National Democratic Alliance
Seats in Lok Sabha	1 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha	5 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies	Indian states 66 / 234 (Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly) 0 / 33 (Puducherry Legislative Assembly)
Number of states and union territories in government	0 / 31
Election symbol
Party flag
An informal contemporary variant of the party flag:
Website
www.aiadmk.com
Politics of India Political parties Elections

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Varied topics Dravidian movement Periyar Anti-Hindi agitations Cinema in Dravidian politics Rise of Dravidian parties
Forerunners Iyothee Thass Rettamalai Srinivasan Natesa Mudaliar Maraimalai Adigal Theagaroya Chetty T. M. Nair Periyar
Dravidian parties Defunct parties Justice party Tamil National Party Thazhthapattor Munnetra Kazhagam Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani Thayaga Marumalarchi Kazhagam Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam Contemporary parties Dravidar Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Latchiya Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam
Chief Ministers Madras Presidency Subbarayalu Panagal Raja Munuswamy Naidu R. R. Rao P. T. Rajan Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai M. Karunanidhi M. G. Ramachandran V. N. Janaki Ramachandran J. Jayalalithaa O. Panneerselvam Edappadi K. Palaniswami M. K. Stalin
v t

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (transl. All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation; abbr. AIADMK) is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and union territory of Puducherry. It is currently the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and part of the India-ruling National Democratic Alliance.^[4] AIADMK is a Dravidian party founded by former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) at Madurai on 17 October 1972 as a breakaway faction from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after M. Karunanidhi expelled him from the party for asking for accounts as party treasurer.^[5] The party is adhering to the socio-democratic and social justice principles based off of C. N. Annadurai collectively coined as Annaism by M.G.R.^[6][7]

From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2016, AIADMK was led by J. Jayalalithaa, who served six times as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on several occasions. The party has won majorities in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly seven times, making it the most successful political outfit in the state's history. J. Jayalalithaa was known as the "Mother of AIADMK" and was highly popular among the Tamil populace until her death in 2016 .^[8][9]

The headquarters of the party is called Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai, which is located at Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Royapettah, Chennai. The building was donated to the party in 1986 by M.G.R.'s wife V. N. Janaki Ramachandran, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu.^[10]

Ideology and policies[]

The AIADMK sought to depoliticize the education policy of the government by not insisting that education be the Tamil language. Policies of AIADMK were targeted to the poorer segments of Tamil society – poor, rickshaw pullers, and destitute women and centralizing the massive noon meal scheme for children.^[11][12] There was ambivalence toward the reservation policy and interests of farmers.^[12]

The AIADMK posted an array of welfare schemes targeting the human development index of the state. AIADMK has schemes listed in the election manifestos covering segments of the population including fishermen, farmers, and school children. Till the 2000s, the parties had welfare schemes like maternity assistance, subsidized public transport, and educational grants. After the 2000s, the parties started competing at an increasing level for the distribution of consumer goods. The AIADMK government distributed free cycles to class 11 and class 12 students during its tenure of 2001–06. The DMK, in competition, promised free color televisions in its manifesto in 2006 assembly elections. The competition continued during the 2011 assembly elections when both parties announced free laptops for schools students and grinders mixers and fans for public.^[13]

Culture[]

• The party remains firm on its support for the "two language policy", in opposition to centre demands to have Hindi as the sole lingua franca language, where Tamil and English are the two main languages of Tamil Nadu.^[14]
• The party provides Rs. 1 lakh for temples of local deities in 2016.^[15]

Economy[]

In the spring of 2019, the party lauded the economic policies of the Modi government (BJP), stating that the centre had ushered in economic stability and made the country a "decisive player" in regional economics, and voiced support for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which had been opposed by their rival the DMK.^[16]

Environment and nature[]

• The AIADMK was one of two parties, along with BJP, not to voice opposition against a ban of cattle slaughter through the national Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. It has however sought an exemption in the Act over traditional bull fighting;^[17] the party supports popular opinion in Tamil Nadu that traditional bull fighting, known as Jallikattu, should not be banned by the centre due to a ruling by the APEX court against animal cruelty.^[18] During the controversy, both major parties of the state called for animal-rights organisation PETA to be banned.^[19]
• AIADMK opposes the building of the Cauvery Dam which could reduce water flows into Tamil Nadu and negatively affect quality-of-live for residents and agriculture.^[20]

History[]

M. G. Ramachandran era (17 October 1972 – 24 December 1987)[]

The party was founded in 1972 as Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) by M. G. Ramachandran, a veteran Tamil film star and popular politician. It was set up as a breakaway faction of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by M. Karunanidhi, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, owing to personal differences between the two.^[21] Later, M.G.R prefixed the All India (AI) tag to the party's name to save himself from IT raids and protect the party during MISA (Emergency).^[22] Since its inception, the relationship between the AIADMK and DMK has been marked by mutual contempt. M.G.R used his fan network to build the party cadre with claims his party recruited more than a million members in the first two months. C. N. Annadurai's ideologue and movie mogul R. M. Veerappan was the key architect in unifying the M.G.R fan clubs and further consolidating the party structure in the 70s. Other key leaders such as Nanjil K. Manoharan and S. D. Somasundaram played major roles in consolidation.^[23] The party's first victories were the Dindigul parliamentary by-election in 1973 and the Coimbatore West assembly bye-election a year later.^[23] On 2 April 1973, AIADMK emerged as the third largest political party in Tamil Nadu, represented by 11 MLAs in the assembly. By 31 January 1976, AIADMK emerged as the second largest political party in Tamil Nadu with 16 MLAs in the assembly. AIADMK grew close to the Congress Party by supporting the National Emergency between 1975 and 1977.

The DMK-led government was dismissed by a Central promulgation on corruption charges in 1976. The AIADMK swept to power in 1977, defeating the DMK in the assembly elections. M.G.R was sworn in as the 3rd Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu on 30 June 1977. M.G.R remained in power until his death on 24 December 1987, winning consecutive assembly elections held in 1977, 1980 and 1984.^[21] In 1979, AIADMK became the first dravidian and regional party to be part of the Union Cabinet, when two AIADMK MP's, Sathyavani Muthu and Aravinda Bala Pajanor, joined the short-lived Chaudhary Charan Singh Ministry which followed the Morarji Desai-led Janata Party government (1977–1979).^[22]

Relations between the Congress and the AIADMK slowly became strained. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of January 1980, the Congress aligned with the DMK and the alliance won 37 out of the 39 state parliamentary seats. The AIADMK won just two seats.^[24] After returning to power, the new prime minister, Indira Gandhi, dismissed a number of state governments belonging to the opposition parties, including the AIADMK government.

Elections to the state assembly were held in late May 1980 with the opposition DMK continuing the electoral alliance with the Congress. In a massive reversal of fortunes following the Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK won a comfortable majority in the state assembly with 129 of 234 seat. M.G.R. was sworn in as chief minister for the second time on 9 June 1980.^[24]

In 1984, even with M.G.R's failing health and hospitalization, the party won the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress. Many political historians consider M.G.R's persona and charisma at this point of time as "infallible", and a logical continuation of his on-screen "good lad" image, strengthened by his "mythical status" in the minds of the masses.^[25] M.G.R continued to enjoy popular support in his third tenure until his death on 24 December 1987.^[25]

Succession crisis (25 December 1987 – 6 February 1989)[]

Following M.G.R's death, his wife, actress-turned-politician V. N. Janaki Ramachandran, rose to the party's leadership under support of R. M. Veerappan and 98 MLAs. She led the government for 23 days as the state's 1st woman chief minister from 7 January 1988 until the state assembly was suspended on 30 January 1988 and President's rule imposed. The party began to crumble due to infighting and broke into two factions, one under V. N. Janaki Ramachandran and the other under J. Jayalalithaa, an associate of M.G.R. and another film actress-turned-politician who had starred with M.G.R. The 1989 assembly election saw the DMK regain power after 12 years in the opposition with M. Karunanidhi returning as the Chief Minister for the third time. AIADMK, due to its split, suffered heavily in the elections, with the Janaki and Jayalalithaa factions winning only 2 and 27 seats respectively.^[25] Following AIADMK's rout in the elections, the factions led by Jayalalithaa and Janaki merged under the former's leadership. The DMK government was dismissed in 1991 by the Central Government led by Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, an ally of the AIADMK at that time, on charges that the constitutional machinery in the state had broken down.

J. Jayalalithaa era (9 February 1989 – 5 December 2016)[]

The AIADMK allied with the Congress and swept to power in the 1991 assembly election under the leadership of J. Jayalalithaa who became the second female chief minister and the 5th chief minister of the state. Political observers have ascribed the landslide victory to the anti-incumbent wave arising out of the assassination of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi^[25] by suspected Tamil separatists fighting for a homeland in neighbouring Sri Lanka. The ensuing government, was accused of large-scale corruption, but Jayalalithaa held on to power for a full term of five years. In the 1996 assembly election, AIADMK continued its alliance with the Congress but suffered a massive rout, winning only four out of the 234 assembly seats, with even Jayalalithaa losing from Bargur.^[26][27]

The AIADMK formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), another breakaway faction of the DMK, during the parliamentary elections in 1998.^[26] AIADMK shared power with the BJP in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee headed government between 1998 and 1999,^[22] but withdrew support in early 1999, leading to the fall of the BJP government. Following this, the AIADMK once again allied with the Congress.

In the 2001 assembly election, the AIADMK-led alliance, consisting of the Congress, the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), the Left Front and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), regained power, winning 197 seats, with AIADMK winning 132.^[28] Due to the proceedings in a disproportionate assets case which occurred in her previous tenure, Jayalalithaa was prevented from holding office. O. Panneerselvam, a close confidant of Jayalalithaa was appointed as the Chief Minister for the second time on 21 September 2001. Once the Supreme Court overturned Jayalalithaa's conviction and sentence in the case, O Panneerselvam resigned on 2 March 2002, and Jayalalithaa was again sworn in as Chief Minister for the third time.^[28]

Unlike her first term, her second term was not marred by corruption scandals. She took many popular decisions such as banning of lottery tickets, restricting the liquor and sand quarrying business to government agencies and banning tobacco product sales near schools and colleges. She encouraged women to join the state police force by setting up all women-police stations and commissioning 150 women into the elite level police commandos in 2003, a first in India. The women had the same training as men and included handling weapons, detection and disposal of bombs, driving, horseriding, and adventure sports.^[29] She sent a special task force to the Sathyamangalam forests in October 2004 to hunt down notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. The operation was successful as Veerappan was finally killed by the task force on 18 October 2004.

However, despite the popular measures taken by the government, in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, the party, in alliance with the BJP again, was humiliated, winning none of the 39 Lok Sabha seats from the state. The Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA), a DMK-led alliance consisting of all the major opposition parties in the state, swept the election.

Later, in the 2006 assembly election, in spite of media speculations of a hung assembly, the AIADMK, contesting with only the support of MDMK and a few other smaller parties, won 61 seats compared to the DMK's 96 and was pushed out of power by the DMK-led congressional alliance of the PMK and the Left Front. The AIADMK's electoral reversals continued in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. However, the party's performance was better than its debacle in 2004, and it managed to win nine seats.

Following widespread corruption and allegations of nepotism against the DMK government, in the 2011 assembly election, the party, in alliance with parties like the left and actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), swept the polls, winning 202 seats, with the AIADMK winning 150. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth time.^[28]

In the Union territory of Puducherry, the AIADMK allied with N. Rangaswamy's All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) and won the 2011 assembly election, which was held in parallel with the Tamil Nadu assembly election. However, it did not join the newly elected AINRC-led government. The AIADMK's good electoral performance continued in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Contesting without allies, the AIADMK won an unprecedented 37 out of 39 seats in the state of Tamil Nadu, emerged as the third-largest party in parliament.

On 27 September 2014, Jayalalithaa was convicted in the Disproportionate assets case by a Special Court along with her associates Sasikala Natarajan, Ilavarasi and V. N. Sudhakaran, and sentenced to four-year simple imprisonment. Jayalalithaa was also fined ₹100 crores and her associates were fined ₹10 crore each. The case had political implications as it was the first case where a ruling chief minister had to step down on account of a court sentence.^[30]

Due to her resignation O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as Chief Minister on 29 September 2014.^[31] Jayalalithaa was denied bail by the High Court and moved the Supreme Court for bail. The Supreme Court granted bail on 17 October 2014. On 11 May 2015, the high court of Karnataka said she was acquitted from that case, and was again sworn in as Chief Minister for the fifth time.

In the 2016 assembly election contesting without allies, the AIADMK swept the polls, winning 135 out of 234 seats. On 23 May 2016, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the sixth time.^[28]

On 22 September 2016, she was admitted to Apollo Hospital, Chennai due to fever and dehydration. After a prolonged illness, she died on 5 December 2016.

Expansion beyond Tamil Nadu and Puducherry[]

Under Jayalalithaa's regime, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam spread beyond Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. State units are established in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. The party floated 29 candidates across the state of Kerala in the 2006 assembly election and had contested on its own.

In Karnataka, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had members in the state assembly until 2004 and has influence in the Tamil-speaking areas of Bangalore and Kolar. The party has a following in places like National Capital Territory of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in India and also in countries where Tamil people are present.

V. K. Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran era (16 December 2016 – 20 August 2017)[]

After her death on 5 December 2016, Jayalalithaa's long-time friend V. K. Sasikala was selected unanimously as the General Secretary of the party on 16 December 2016.^[32][33] On February 5, 2017, she was selected as the leader of the legislative assembly as chief minister. O. Panneerselvam rebelled against V. K. Sasikala and reported that he had been compelled to resign as Chief Minister, bringing in a new twist to Tamil Nadu Politics. Due to a conviction in Disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, V.K.Sasikala was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment in the Bengaluru Central Prison. Before that, she appointed Edappadi K. Palaniswami as legislative party leader (Chief Minister).

She also appointed her nephew and former Treasurer of the party Mr. T. T. V. Dhinakaran as the deputy general secretary of AIADMK party. With the support of 123 MLAs, Edappadi K. Palaniswami became chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

On 23 March 2017, the election commission of India gave separate party symbols to the two factions; O. Panneerselvam's faction known as AIADMK (PURATCHI THALAIVI AMMA), while Edappadi K. Palaniswami's faction known as AIADMK (AMMA).

By-polls were announced at the RK Nagar constituency which was vacated due to Jayalalithaa's death. But, the election commission canceled the by-polls after evidence of large-scale bribing by the ruling AIADMK (AMMA) surfaced. On 17 April 2017, Delhi police registered a case against Dhinakaran who was also the candidate for AIADMK (AMMA) for the by-poll at RK Nagar regarding an allegation of attempting to bribe the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the AIADMK's election symbol. However the Tis Hazari Special Court granted him bail on the grounds that the police failed to identify the public official allegedly bribed.

T.T.V. Dhinakaran started his party work on 5 August 2017. However, the chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had a fallout with Dhinakaran and announced that the appointment of T.T.V. Dinakaran as deputy general secretary was invalid. So T.T.V. Dhinakaran claims that's "We are the real AIADMK and 95% of its cadres are with us."

Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam era (21 August 2017 – present)[]

On 21 August 2017, both EPS and OPS factions of the AIADMK merged and O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister, Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu and the convener of AIADMK. He also holds portfolios of Housing, Rural Housing, Housing Development, Slum Clearance Board and Accommodation Control, Town Planning, Urban Development, and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.^[34] On 4 January 2018, O. Panneerselvam was elected Leader of the House in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

On 12 September 2017, the AIADMK general council decided to cancel Sasikala's appointment as interim general secretary and expelled her from the party, though officials appointed to party posts by her were allowed to continue discharging their functions. Instead, the late J. Jayalalithaa was named the eternal general secretary of AIADMK.^[35]

A day after the merger of two AIADMK factions, 19 MLAs^[36] owing allegiance to ousted deputy general secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran on 22 April 2017 submitted letters to Governor, expressing lack of confidence in Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and withdrawing support from the government.^[36] 18 out of those 19 MLAs were disqualified from Office by the Speaker of Legislature upon recommendation from AIADMK Chief Whip. After a prolonged legal battle, the Speaker's orders were upheld by the High Court of Chennai and by-elections were alongside the Parliament general elections. The election commission of India on 23 November 2017 granted the two leaves symbol to the EPS and OPS camp.

Legal Fight for the party by V. K. Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran[]

After that V. K. Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran had appealed to the Delhi High Court and they rejected their appeal and said that EPS and OPS camp are original AIADMK.

After that T. T. V. Dhinakaran had also appealed to the Supreme Court of India on March 15, the bench of Chief Justice of India has also rejected his appeal against the judgement made by Delhi High Court in favour of EPS and OPS camp.

Following this, the General Council passed a resolution removing V. K. Sasikala from the post of General Secretary. V. K. Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran jointly filed a suit in the High Court challenging the decision of the General Council. Since it was a civil case, the case was transferred to the City Civil Court. During the hearing on April 9, 2021, T.T.V. Dinakaran told the court that he would withdraw from the case as he had started a party called Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam. At the same time, V.K. Sasikala told the court that she wanted to continue the case. The case is currently being heard at the City Civil Court.

Criticism[]

Being a popular actor, M.G.R.'s fan clubs became a source for electoral mobilization. The head of his fan club, R. M. Veerappan, became a lieutenant, and fellow actress J. Jayalalithaa was groomed as a possible heir apparent.^[37] There was a near administrative collapse during M.G.R.'s rule, and the state's rank in industrial production dropped from 3rd in the nation in 1977 to 13th position in 1987.^[37] Populist schemes that consumed two-thirds of the state's budget resulted in long-term economic costs.^[37] M.G.R. was running a centralized administration which caused a severe toll on the state administration during his extended period of illness.^[38]

Personality cult[]

Jayalalithaa was also accused of creating a personality cult, with fans and party activists calling her 'Amma' ('mother' in Tamil). Her face adorned food canteens, pharmacies, salt packets, laptop computers, baby care kits, bottled water, medicine shops and cement bags. Following her imprisonment on 27 September 2014, her supporters held protests and wept openly. Her replacement, the party's former minister O. Panneerselvam, also wept during his inauguration, with colleagues saying they were in mourning.^[39] Due to the centralized leadership of Jayalalithaa, the state of Tamil Nadu experienced policy paralysis, with most legislators and party cadres protesting against her conviction with hunger fasts, road and rail blockades.^[40][41] The entire Cabinet would fall in line and bow in front of the helicopter in which it was flying. Members of the party, at all levels never found it difficult to prostrate before her in full view of the public.^[42] Even after her death, the AIADMK leaders continued to prostrate themselves before her burial ground.^[43][44]

Debt crisis[]

The overall debt burden of Tamil Nadu is expected to reach more than ₹ 5 lakh crore by March 31, 2022 during the AIADMK government.^[45] Under Jayalalithaa and the AIADMK tenure, the State debt as percentage of GSDP was about 5% increase in 2011. It was 16.92% in 2011–12. It was 21.83% as of April 2021 during the K. Eddapadi's government.^[46] The opposition criticized the financial mismanagement by the AIADMK who left a ₹ 62,000 per head for each person of the state. The opposition criticized that the entire debt of the state government in the 2006–11 DMK regime was only Rs 44,000 crore, but the AIADMK regime has made a debt of ₹ 3.55 lakh crore.^[47] The overall debt the AIADMK government left behind as of March 31, 2021 is estimated to be ₹ 4,85,502.54 crore and as on March 31, 2022, it is estimated to be ₹ 5,70,189.29 crore.^[48]

Electoral performance[]

Indian general elections[]

Lok Sabha Elections

Year	Party leader	Seats contested	Seats won	Change in seats	Percentage of votes	Vote swing	Popular vote	Result
1977	M. G. Ramachandran	21	18 / 542	18	2.90%		54,80,378	Government
1980		24	2 / 542	16	2.36%	0.54%	46,74,064	Opposition
1984		12	12 / 533	10	1.69%	0.67	39,68,967	Government
1989	J. Jayalalithaa	11	11 / 545	1	1.50%	0.19	45,18,649	Opposition
1991		11	11 / 545		1.62%	0.12	44,70,542	Government
1996		10	0 / 545	11	0.64%	0.98	21,30,286	Lost
1998		23	18 / 545	18	1.83%	1.19%	67,31,550	Government
1999		29	10 / 545	8	1.93%	0.10	70,46,953	Opposition
2004		33	0 / 543	10	2.19%	0.26	85,47,014	Lost
2009		23	9 / 543	9	1.67%	0.52	69,53,591	Others
2014		40	37 / 543	28	3.27%	1.60%	1,81,11,579	Others
2019	O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami	21	1 / 543	36	1.28%	1.99%	78,30,146	Government

State legislative assembly elections[]

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections^[49]

Year	Party leader	Seats contested	Seats won	Change in seats	Percentage of votes	Vote swing	Popular vote	Result
1977	M. G. Ramachandran	200	130 / 234	130	30.36%		51,94,876	Government
1980		177	129 / 234	1	38.75%	8.39%	73,03,010	Government
1984		155	132 / 234	3	37.03%	1.72%	80,30,809	Government
1989	J. Jayalalithaa	202	29 / 234	103	21.77%	15.26%	52,47,317	Opposition
1991		168	164 / 234	135	44.39%	22.62%	1,09,40,966	Government
1996		168	4 / 234	160	21.47%	22.92%	58,31,383	Others
2001		141	132 / 234	128	31.44%	9.97%	88,15,387	Government
2006		188	61 / 234	71	32.64%	1.20%	1,07,68,559	Opposition
2011		165	150 / 234	89	38.40%	5.76%	1,41,50,289	Government
2016		234	136 / 234	14	40.77%	2.37%	1,76,16,266	Government
2021	O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami	191	66 / 234	70	33.29%	7.48%	1,53,91,055	Opposition

Puducherry Legislative Assembly Elections^[50]

Year	Party leader	Seats contested	Seats won	Change in seats	Percentage of votes	Vote swing	Popular vote	Result
1974	M. G. Ramachandran	21	12 / 30	12	27.83%		60,812	Government
1977		27	14 / 30	2	30.96%	3.13%	69,873	Government
1980		18	0 / 30	14	18.60%	12.36%	45,623	Lost
1985		10	6 / 30	6	15.75%	2.85%	47,521	Opposition
1990	J. Jayalalithaa	13	3 / 30	3	18.17%	2.42%	76,337	Opposition
1991		10	6 / 30	3	17.34%	0.83%	67,792	Government
1996		10	3 / 30	3	12.53%	4.81%	57,678	Opposition
2001		20	3 / 30		12.56%	0.03%	59,926	Government
2006		18	3 / 30		16.04%	3.48%	90,699	Others
2011		10	5 / 30	2	13.75%	2.29%	95,960	Government
2016		30	4 / 30	1	16.82%	3.07%	1,34,597	Opposition
2021	O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami	5	0 / 30	4	4.14%	12.68%	34,623	Lost

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections^[51]

Year	Party leader	Seats contested	Seats won	Change in seats	Percentage of votes	Vote swing	Popular vote	Result
1978	M. G. Ramachandran	7	0 / 224		0.18%		22,310	Lost
1983		1	1 / 224	1	0.13%	0.05%	16,234	Government
1989	J. Jayalalithaa	1	1 / 224		0.18%	0.05%	32,928	Government
1994		4	1 / 224		0.24%	0.06%	50,696	Opposition
1999		13	1 / 224		0.18%	0.06%	39,865	Government
2004		2	0 / 224	1	0.07%	0.11%	16,737	Lost
2008		7	0 / 224		0.03%	0.04%	9,088	Lost
2013		5	0 / 224		0.03%		10,280	Lost
2018	O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami	3	0 / 224		0.01%	0.02%	2,072	Lost

Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections^[52]

Year	Party leader	Seats contested	Seats won	Change in seats	Percentage of votes	Vote swing	Popular vote	Result
1977	M. G. Ramachandran	2	0 / 140		0.02%		2,114	Lost
1980		1	0 / 140		0.00%	0.02%	224	Lost
2006	J. Jayalalithaa	29	0 / 140		0.12%	0.12%	19,078	Lost
2011		4	0 / 140		0.01%	0.11%	2,448	Lost
2016		7	0 / 140		0.17%	0.16%	33,440	Lost
2021	O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami	1	0 / 140		0.05%	0.12%	10,376	Lost

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections^[53]

Year	Party leader	Seats contested	Seats won	Change in seats	Percentage of votes	Vote swing	Popular vote	Result
1978	M. G. Ramachandran	9	0 / 294		0.19%		38,691	Lost
1994	J. Jayalalithaa	2	0 / 294		0.05%	0.14%	14,251	Lost
1999		5	0 / 294		0.02%	0.03%	7,281	Lost

Current office bearers and prominent members[]

Member	Position in Government	Party Position
O. Panneerselvam	Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Member of the Legislative Assembly from Bodinayakkanur Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu	Coordinator and Treasurer
Edappadi K. Palaniswami	Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Member of the Legislative Assembly from Edappadi Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu	Joint Coordinator and Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai Secretary
A. Thamizhmahan Hussain	Former Chairperson of Tamil Nadu Waqf Board	Interim Presidium Chairman and All World M.G.R. Mandram Secretary
K. P. Munusamy	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Veppanahalli Former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Krishnagiri Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha	Deputy Coordinator
R. Vaithilingam	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Orathanad Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha	Deputy Coordinator
M. Thambidurai	Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Former Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs Former Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha	Parliamentary Chairperson and Propaganda Secretary
P. Ravindhranath	Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Theni	Lok Sabha Leader and Theni District Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Peravai Secretary
A. Navaneethakrishnan	Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha	Rajya Sabha Leader
S. R. Balasubramoniyan	Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Former Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs	Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader
N. R. Sivapathi	Former Minister for Animal Husbandry of Tamil Nadu	M.G.R. Youth Wing Secretary
B. Valarmathi	Former Minister for Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme of Tamil Nadu	Women's Wing Secretary
R. Kamalakannan		Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai Secretary
Agri S.S. Krishnamoorthy	Former Minister for Agriculture of Tamil Nadu	Agriculture Wing Secretary
Pollachi V. Jayaraman	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Pollachi Former Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly	Election Wing Secretary
Singai G. Ramachandran		IT Wing Secretary
R. B. Udhayakumar	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Tirumangalam Former Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management of Tamil Nadu	Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Peravai Secretary
Vaigaichelvan	Former Minister for School Education of Tamil Nadu	Literature Wing Secretary
V. N. P. Venkatraman	Former Member of the Legislative Assembly from Alandur	Trade Wing Secretary
S. Ravi	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Arakkonam	Deputy Whip in the Legislative Assembly
11-Member Steering Committee
Dindigul C. Srinivasan	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Dindigul Former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Dindigul Former Minister for Forest of Tamil Nadu	Organizing Secretary
P. Thangamani	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kumarapalayam Former Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise of Tamil Nadu	Organizing Secretary
S. P. Velumani	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Thondamuthur Former Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Implementation of Special Programme of Tamil Nadu	Chief Whip in the Legislative Assembly and Organizing Secretary
D. Jayakumar	Former Speaker of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly Former Minister for Fisheries and Personnel and Administrative Reforms of Tamil Nadu	Organizing Secretary
C. Ve. Shanmugam	Former Minister for Law, Courts and Prisons of Tamil Nadu	Vilupuram District Secretary
R. Kamaraj	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Nannilam Former Minister for Food and Civil Supplies of Tamil Nadu	Tiruvarur District Secretary
J. C. D. Prabhakar	Former Minister for Food and Civil Supplies of Tamil Nadu	Organizing Secretary and Spokesperson
P. H. Manoj Pandian	Member of the Legislative Assembly from Alangulam Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha	Organizing Secretary
P. Mohan	Former Minister for Rural Industries of Tamil Nadu	Organizing Secretary
R. Gopalakrishnan	Former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Madurai	Election Wing Joint Secretary
State Unit Secretaries
A. Anbalagan	Former Member of the Legislative Assembly from Oupalam	Puducherry (East) Unit Secretary
Om Sakthi Sekar	Former Member of the Legislative Assembly from Nellithope	Puducherry (West) Unit Secretary
S. D. Kumar		Karnataka Unit Secretary
G. Shobakumar		Kerala Unit Secretary

List of party leadership[]

President

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)		17 October 1972	24 December 1987	15 years, 68 days

General Secretaries

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)		17 October 1972	22 June 1978	6 years, 316 days
						17 October 1986	24 December 1987
			2	V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000)		23 June 1978	10 June 1980	3 years, 33 days
25 December 1987	8 February 1989
3	P. U. Shanmugam (1924–2007)		11 June 1980	13 March 1985	4 years, 275 days
4	S. Raghavanandam (1917–unknown)		14 March 1985	16 October 1986	1 year, 216 days
5	J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)		9 February 1989	5 December 2016	27 years, 300 days

Coordinator

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office
			Start	End	Tenure
1	O. Panneerselvam (1951–)		21 August 2017	Incumbent	4 years, 125 days

Joint Coordinator

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office
			Start	End	Tenure
1	Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)		21 August 2017	Incumbent	4 years, 125 days

Deputy Coordinators

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office
			Start	End	Tenure
1	K. P. Munusamy (1952–)		21 August 2017	Incumbent	4 years, 125 days
2	R. Vaithilingam (1955–)		21 August 2017	Incumbent	4 years, 125 days

Legislative leaders[]

List of union ministers[]

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Portfolio	Term in office			Lok Sabha	Prime Minister
				Start	End	Tenure
				1	Sathiavani Muthu (1923–1999)					Minister of Social Welfare	19 August 1979	23 December 1979	126 days	6th	Chaudhary Charan Singh
			2	A. Bala Pajanor (1935–2013)		Minister of Petroleum, Chemicals and Fertilizers
			3	R. Muthiah (1945–)		Minister of Surface Transport	19 March 1998	8 April 1998	20 days	12th	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
4	M. Thambidurai (1947–)		Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs	19 March 1998	8 April 1999	1 year, 20 days
			Minister of Surface Transport	8 April 1998		1 year
5	R. K. Kumar (1942–1999)		Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs	19 March 1998	22 May 1998	64 days
			Minister of State for Finance	20 March 1998		63 days
6	Kadambur R. Janarthanan (1929–2020)		Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions	20 March 1998	8 April 1999	1 year, 19 days
			Minister of State for Finance	22 May 1998		321 days

List of chief ministers[]

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Assembly	Constituency	Ministry
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)					30 June 1977	17 February 1980	10 years, 65 days	6th	Aruppukottai	Ramachandran I
						9 June 1980	9 February 1985	7th	Madurai West	Ramachandran II
						10 February 1985	24 December 1987	8th	Andipatti	Ramachandran III
Acting	V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000)		24 December 1987	7 January 1988	14 days	Athoor	Nedunchezhiyan II
2	V. N. Janaki Ramachandran (1924–1996)		7 January 1988	30 January 1988	23 days	Did not contest	Janaki
3	J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)		24 June 1991	12 May 1996	14 years, 124 days	10th	Bargur	Jayalalithaa I
			14 May 2001	21 September 2001		12th	Did not contest	Jayalalithaa II
			2 March 2002	12 May 2006			Andipatti	Jayalalithaa III
			16 May 2011	27 September 2014		14th	Srirangam	Jayalalithaa IV
			23 May 2015	22 May 2016			Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar	Jayalalithaa V
			23 May 2016	5 December 2016		15th		Jayalalithaa VI
4	O. Panneerselvam (1951–)		21 September 2001	2 March 2002	1 year, 106 days	12th	Periyakulam	Panneerselvam I
			28 September 2014	23 May 2015		14th	Bodinayakkanur	Panneerselvam II
			5 December 2016	15 February 2017		15th		Panneerselvam III
5	Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)		16 February 2017	6 May 2021	4 years, 79 days		Edappadi	Palaniswami

Chief Minister of Puducherry

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Assembly	Constituency	Ministry
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	Subramanyan Ramaswamy (1939–2017)					6 March 1974	27 March 1974	1 year, 153 days	3rd	Karaikal South	Ramaswamy I
						2 July 1977	11 November 1978	4th	Ramaswamy II

List of deputy chief ministers[]

Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Assembly	Constituency	Chief Minister
			Start	End	Tenure
1	O. Panneerselvam (1951–)		21 August 2017	6 May 2021	3 years, 258 days	15th	Bodinayakkanur	Edappadi K. Palaniswami

List of deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha[]

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Lok Sabha	Constituency	Speaker
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	M. Thambidurai (1947–)						22 January 1985	27 November 1989	9 years, 229 days	8th	Dharmapuri	Balram Jakhar
						13 August 2014	25 May 2019	16th	Karur	Sumitra Mahajan

List of leader of the opposition[]

Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Assembly	Constituency
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)				9 February 1989	30 November 1989	5 years, 279 days	9th	Bodinayakkanur
						29 May 2006	14 May 2011	13th	Andipatti
			2	S. R. Eradha (1934–2020)		1 December 1989	18 January 1991	1 year, 48 days	9th	Madurai East
3	O. Panneerselvam (1951–)		19 May 2006	28 May 2006	9 days	13th	Periyakulam
4	Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)		11 May 2021	Incumbent	227 days	16th	Edappadi

Leader of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Assembly	Constituency
			Start	End	Tenure
			1	P. K. Loganathan (unknown–2013)				16 March 1985	4 March 1990	4 years, 353 days	6th	Oupalam

List of deputy leader of the opposition[]

Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

№	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Term in office			Assembly	Constituency	Leader of the Opposition
			Start	End	Tenure
1	O. Panneerselvam (1951–)		11 May 2021	Incumbent	193 days	16th	Bodinayakkanur	Edappadi K. Palaniswami

See also[]

• Politics of India
• List of political parties in India

References[]

External links[]

• Official website