AIADMK-led Alliance

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The AIADMK-led Alliance is an Indian regional political alliance in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

History

AIADMK Party founder and then General Secretary M. G. Ramachandran formed the alliance, consisting of Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI) and faced the party's first ever general election post emergency in 1977. Though that election resulted in a heavy defeat for the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi led Indian National Congress (INC) at national level, The AIADMK -Congress Alliance swept Tamil Nadu by winning 34 out 39 lok sabha seats in the state. The Janata Party won the election at the centre. After the election, the AIADMK ended up supporting the Janata Party under Morarji Desai. In 1979, AIADMK continued to support Janata Party, by supporting Charan Singh Government, which resulted in the appointment of two AIADMK cabinet members, making it the first time a non-Congress Dravidian Party member making it to the council of ministers at the national level.^[5]

AIADMK won the 1977 Tamil Nadu Assembly election with its allies defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and M. G. Ramachandran (simply known as M.G.R in the state) was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time.

1980 Lok Sabha Election, AIADMK - Janata Party Alliance faced an upset defeat in hands of Congress - DMK alliance, by winning only won 2 seats in Tamil Nadu.^[6] Congress-DMK won 37 out of 39 seats victory in that election which emboldened their alliance and made them think that people lost their faith in M. G. Ramachandran government in the state. Under DMK's pressure, The AIADMK ministry and the Tamil Nadu assembly were dismissed by the Indira Gandhi government on grounds of civil disorder due to Farmers protest for electricity subsidy. Tamil Nadu assembly election was held in 1980, In which the AIADMK with its allies CPI, CPI(Marxist) won 162 seats and its leader and incumbent Chief Minister MGR was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second time. After this Election, Congress came close to the AIADMK.^[7]

In the wake of Chief Minister MGR's hospitalization in New York City and subsequent Assassination of Indira Gandhi, newly assumed Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi felt that his Government required a fresh mandate from the people, and dissolved the Lok Sabha a year before its actual end of term, for fresh general elections. At the same time, AIADMK recommended dissolution of Tamil Nadu State Assembly a year ahead of end of term, to use the sympathy wave of Congress due to Indira's death and M.G.R's illness. Congress(I) and AIADMK formed an alliance and contested both general elections to Lok Sabha and Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1984. The allocation of seats were done what was later dubbed, "The M.G.R formula". Where the regional party would contest 70% of the assembly seats and the national party would be given 70% of the Lok Sabha seats. The result was a landslide victory for INC and its ally AIADMK, winning 37 out of 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state and 195 seats in Tamil Nadu Assembly. M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R) was sworn in as Chief Minister, for the third time. After the death of M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R) in December 1987, The AIADMK split into two factions, one led by Janaki and the other by J. Jayalalithaa. Janaki briefly served as the chief minister and her government was dismissed by prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on 30 January 1988 citing the disruptions in the assembly. After a year of President's rule, Both the AIADMK factions contested with different alliances with separate symbols as the election commission froze the "two leaves" symbol of the AIADMK to them for 1989 assembly election. Congress contested the elections alone without allying with either factions and Rajiv Gandhi campaigned extensively making multiple campaign visits to Tamil Nadu. Due to its split, the AIADMK suffered heavily in the election, with the Janaki and Jayalalithaa factions winning only 2 and 27 seats, respectively. Following the AIADMK's rout in the election, the factions led by Jayalalithaa and Janaki merged under Jayalalithaa's leadership on 7 February 1989, as Janaki decided to quit politics as it was not her forte. On 8 February 1989, the Two Leaves symbol was granted to the united AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa.^[8] AIADMK and Congress again allied in mid 1989. This marks the start of the dominance of INC-AIADMK, for the next decade winning 38 seats in 1989 Lok Sabha election and all 39 seats in 1991 Lok Sabha election.^[7][9] In the wake of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination during the election campaign in Tamil Nadu, Democratic Progressive Alliance of AIADMK - Congress swept the state in both the Tamil Nadu assembly and Lok Sabha elections in 1991. AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa sworn in as the chief minister for the first time.^[10] AIADMK - Congress Alliance routed in 1996 assembly election and Lok Sabha polls.

In 1998 Lok Sabha general election, the AIADMK revived its electoral fortunes when it formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), and the alliance won 30 seats out of 39 in Tamil Nadu. In the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government between 1998 and 1999, the AIADMK shared power with the BJP but withdrew its support of 18 Lok Sabha MPs in early 1999, causing the BJP government to fall.

Following this, the AIADMK once again allied with the INC in the 1999 general election, and the alliance won 13 seats out of 39 in Tamil Nadu. In the 2001 assembly election, the AIADMK-led Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance, consisting of the Indian National Congress, the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) (TMC(M)), the Left Front, and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), regained power, winning 197 seats to the AIADMK's 132. Jayalalithaa sworn in as the chief minister for the second time.^[11] In 2004 Lok Sabha general election, AIADMK led National Democratic Alliance consisting of BJP, won none of the 39 Lok Sabha seats from the state. In 2006 assembly election, in spite of media speculations of a hung assembly, the AIADMK led Democratic People Alliance, contesting with only the support of the MDMK, VCK and few other smaller parties, won 61 seats compared to the DMK's 96. The AIADMK's electoral reversals continued in the 2009 general election. However, the party's performance was better than its debacle in 2004, and the AIADMK-led Third Front consisting of PMK, MDMK and left parties managed to win 12 seats, with the AIADMK winning 9 seats.

In the 2011 assembly election, AIADMK led alliance with parties like the left and actor-turned-politician Vijayakant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), swept the polls, winning 203 seats, with the AIADMK winning 150. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as chief minister for the fourth time. In the union territory of Puducherry, the AIADMK allied with N. Rangasamy's All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) and won the 2011 assembly election, which was held in parallel with the Tamil Nadu assembly election. Rangasamy, on the other hand, formed the government without consulting the AIADMK and refused to share power with the pre-election alliance partner. So Jayalalithaa accused him of betraying the coalition.

The AIADMK's good electoral performance continued in the 2014 general election as well. It opted not to join any alliance and contested all seats in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry on its own. The party won an unprecedented 37 out of the 40 parliamentary constituencies it contested and emerged as the third largest party in the 16th Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament. It was a massive victory that no other regional political party had ever achieved in the history of general elections. In the 2016 assembly election, running without allies, she swept the polls, winning 135 out of 234 seats. It was the most audacious decision made by her for the spectacular victory that no other political leader had ever made in the history of Tamil Nadu. On 23 May 2016, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as chief minister for the sixth time. After Jayalalithaa's death on 5 December 2016, AIADMK had gone through a sea changes, from accepting Sasikala as acting general secretary, Party Split, Merger of OPS and EPS factions, Sasikala's expulsion to Introduction of dual Leadership in the party.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, AIADMK led by then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam as Coordinators, in alliance with the BJP again, won only one of the 39 Lok Sabha seats from the state and lost to the DMK led Secular Progressive Alliance. Later, in the 2021 assembly election, the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance, consisting of the PMK, BJP, and a few other smaller parties, won 75 seats compared to the 159 seats won by the DMK alliance and was pushed out of power by the DMK after a decade. The AIADMK emerged as the main party of the opposition in the assembly by winning 66 seats. During the period of 2022-23, The AIADMK again undergone many changes like abolition of dual leadership^[12] and the election of Edappadi K. Palaniswami as its General Secretary.^[13][14] Following the tensions with the BJP, The AIADMK left the National Democratic Alliance, by snapping ties with the BJP and It was officially announced on 25 September 2023. AIADMK to form and lead the new alliance headed by the General secretary Palaniswami to face the Next Indian general election and TN Assembly election in the state.^[15][16][17]

Indian general elections

Tamil Nadu

Lok Sabha Elections in Tamil Nadu

Duration	Election year	Allied parties	Seats won
AIADMK - Congress Alliance
1977	1977	AIADMK, INC, CPI	34 / 39
AIADMK - Janata Party Alliance
1979–1980	1980	AIADMK, JNP, CPI, CPI(M)	2 / 39
AIADMK - Congress Alliance
1984–1988	1984	AIADMK, INC, GKNC	37 / 39
1989	1989	AIADMK, INC	38 / 39
Democratic Progressive Alliance
1991–1996	1991	AIADMK, INC	39 / 39
	1996		0 / 39
National Democratic Alliance
1998–1999	1998	AIADMK, BJP, PMK, MDMK, JP, TRC	30 / 39
Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance
1999–2001	1999	AIADMK, INC, CPI, CPI(M), INL	13 / 39
National Democratic Alliance
2004	2004	AIADMK, BJP	0 / 39
Third Front
2007–2014	2009	AIADMK, PMK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK	12 / 39
AIADMK
2014–2019	2014	AIADMK	37 / 39
National Democratic Alliance
2019–2023	2019	AIADMK, BJP, PMK, DMDK, TMC, PT	1 / 39
AIADMK led Alliance
2023-Present	2024	AIADMK	TBD

Puducherry

Lok Sabha Elections in Puducherry

Duration	Election year	Allied parties	Contested by	Result
AIADMK - Congress Alliance
1977	1977	AIADMK, INC, CPI	AIADMK	Won
AIADMK - Janata Party Alliance
1979–1980	1980	AIADMK, JNP, CPI, CPI(M)	JNP	Lost
AIADMK - Congress Alliance
1984–1988	1984	AIADMK, INC	INC	Won
1989	1989	AIADMK, INC	INC	Won
Democratic Progressive Alliance
1991–1996	1991	AIADMK, INC	INC	Won
	1996		INC	Won
National Democratic Alliance
1998–1999	1998	AIADMK, BJP, PMK, MDMK, JP	AIADMK	Lost
Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance
1999–2001	1999	AIADMK, INC, CPI, CPI(M), INL	INC	Won
National Democratic Alliance
2004	2004	AIADMK, BJP	BJP	Lost
Third Front
2007–2014	2009	AIADMK, PMK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK	PMK	Lost
AIADMK
2014–2019	2014	AIADMK	AIADMK	Lost
National Democratic Alliance
2019–2023	2019	AIADMK, AINRC, BJP, PMK, DMDK, PT	AINRC	Lost
AIADMK led Alliance
2023-Present	2024	AIADMK	TBD

State legislative assembly elections

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections

Duration	Election year	Allied parties	Seats won
AIADMK led Alliance
1977	1977	AIADMK, CPI(M), AIFB, IUML	144 / 234
1979–1980	1980	AIADMK, CPI, CPI(M), AIFB, GKNC	162 / 234
AIADMK - Congress Alliance
1984–1988	1984	AIADMK, INC, GKNC	195 / 234
AIADMK Factional Alliances
1988–1989	1989	AIADMK (Jayalalithaa), CPI	30 / 234
		AIADMK (Janaki), TMM	2 / 234
Democratic Progressive Alliance
1991–1996	1991	AIADMK, INC, IC(S)	225 / 234
	1996	AIADMK, INC, IUML	4 / 234
Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance
1999–2001	2001	AIADMK, TMC, INC, PMK, CPI, CPI(M), AIFB, IUML, INL, TMMK	196 / 234
Democratic People Alliance
2006	2006	AIADMK, MDMK, VCK, INL, INTUC, MMK, JDS, TMML	69 / 234
AIADMK led Alliance
2008–2014	2011	AIADMK, DMDK, CPI, CPI(M), MMK, PT, AIFB, AISMK, RPI, AIMMK, TNKIP	203 / 234
AIADMK+
2014–2019	2016	AIADMK, AISMK, RPI,TNKIP, MP, MJK, TMML	136 / 234
National Democratic Alliance
2019–2023	2021	AIADMK, PMK, BJP, TMC, PTMK, TMMK, MMK, AIMMK, PBK, PDK	75 / 234
AIADMK led Alliance
2023-Present	2026	AIADMK, PTMK, TMMK, PBK	TBA

Puducherry

Puducherry Legislative Assembly Elections

Duration	Election year	Allied parties	Seats won
AIADMK led Alliance
1974	1974	AIADMK, CPI	14 / 30
1977	1977	AIADMK	14 / 30
1979–1980	1980	AIADMK, CPI	0 / 30
AIADMK - Congress Alliance
1984–1988	1985	AIADMK, INC	21 / 30
1989–1996	1990		14 / 30
	1991		21 / 30
	1996		14 / 30
AIADMK - PMK Alliance
2001	2001	AIADMK, PMK	3 / 30
Democratic People Alliance
2006	2006	AIADMK, PMC, MDMK, VCK	7 / 30
AIADMK - NR Congress Alliance
2011	2011	AIADMK, AINRC, CPI, CPI(M), DMDK	20 / 30
AIADMK+
2014–2019	2016	AIADMK	4 / 30
National Democratic Alliance
2019–2023	2021	AIADMK, AINRC, BJP	16 / 30
AIADMK+
2023-Present	2026	AIADMK	TBA

Withdrawals

List of members

#	Political party		Flag	Election symbol	Leader	Seats				Base
						Lok Sabha	Rajya Sabha	Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly	Puducherry Legislative Assembly
1		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)			Edappadi K. Palaniswami	0 / 543	4 / 245	62 / 234	0 / 30	Puducherry and Tamil Nadu
2		Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi (PTMK)			N. R. Dhanapalan	0 / 543	0 / 245	0 / 234	0 / 30	Tamil Nadu
3		Puratchi Bharatham Katchi (PBK)			M. Jagan Moorthy	0 / 543	0 / 245	0 / 234	0 / 30	Tamil Nadu
4		Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI)			V. M. S. Mohamed Mubarak	0 / 543	0 / 245	0 / 234	0 / 30	Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
TOTAL						0 / 543	4 / 245	62 / 234	0 / 30	India

Legislative leaders

List of union cabinet ministers

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)		Portfolio	Term in office			Constituency (House)	Prime Minister
					Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sathiavani Muthu (1923–1999)		Minister of Social Welfare	19 August 1979	23 December 1979	126 days	Tamil Nadu (Rajya Sabha)	Charan Singh
2		Aravinda Bala Pajanor (1935–2013)		Minister of Petroleum, Chemicals and Fertilizers				Puducherry (Lok Sabha)
3		Sedapatti R. Muthiah (1945–2022)		Minister of Surface Transport	19 March 1998	8 April 1998	20 days	Periyakulam (Lok Sabha)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
4		M. Thambidurai (1947–)		Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs	19 March 1998	8 April 1999	1 year, 20 days	Karur (Lok Sabha)
				Minister of Surface Transport	8 April 1998		1 year
5		Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy (1940–2002)		Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas	19 March 1998	13 October 1999	1 year, 208 days	Salem (Lok Sabha)

List of union ministers of state (independent charge)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)		Portfolio	Term in office			Constituency (House)	Prime Minister
					Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		Dalit Ezhilmalai (1945–2020)		Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare	20 March 1998	14 August 1999	1 year, 147 days	Chidambaram (Lok Sabha)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee

List of chief ministers

Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Ministry
			Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)	30 June 1977	17 February 1980	10 years, 65 days	6th (1977)	Aruppukkottai	Ramachandran I
			9 June 1980	9 February 1985		7th (1980)	Madurai West	Ramachandran II
			10 February 1985	24 December 1987		8th (1984)	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 (1923–1996)	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 (1991)	Bargur	Jayalalithaa I
			14 May 2001	21 September 2001		12th (2001)	did not contest	Jayalalithaa II
			2 March 2002	12 May 2006			Andipatti	Jayalalithaa III
			16 May 2011	27 September 2014		14th (2011)	Srirangam	Jayalalithaa IV
			23 May 2015	22 May 2016			Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar	Jayalalithaa V
			23 May 2016	5 December 2016		15th (2016)		Jayalalithaa VI
4		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	21 September 2001	2 March 2002	1 year, 105 days	12th (2001)	Periyakulam	Panneerselvam I
			28 September 2014	23 May 2015		14th (2011)	Bodinayakanur	Panneerselvam II
			6 December 2016	15 February 2017		15th (2016)		Panneerselvam III
5		Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)	16 February 2017	6 May 2021	4 years, 79 days		Edappadi	Palaniswami

Chief Minister of Puducherry

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Ministry
			Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		S. Ramassamy (1939–2017)	6 March 1974	28 March 1974	1 year, 155 days	4th (1974)	Karaikal South	Ramassamy I
			2 July 1977	12 November 1978		5th (1977)		Ramassamy II

List of deputy chief ministers

Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Chief Minister
			Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	21 August 2017	6 May 2021	3 years, 258 days	15th (2016)	Bodinayakanur	Edappadi K. Palaniswami

List of deputy speakers of the Lok Sabha

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in office			Lok Sabha (Election)	Constituency	Speaker
			Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		M. Thambidurai (1947–)	22 January 1985	27 November 1989	9 years, 229 days	8th (1984)	Dharmapuri	Bal Ram Jakhar
			13 August 2014	25 May 2019		16th (2014)	Karur	Sumitra Mahajan

List of union ministers of state

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Portfolio	Term in office			Constituency (House)	Cabinet Minister		Prime Minister
				Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1		R. K. Kumar (1942–1999)	Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs	19 March 1998	22 May 1998	64 days	Tamil Nadu (Rajya Sabha)	Madan Lal Khurana		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
			Minister of State for Finance	20 March 1998		63 days		Yashwant Sinha
2		Kadambur M. R. Janarthanan (1929–2020)	Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions	20 March 1998	8 April 1999	1 year, 19 days	Tirunelveli (Lok Sabha)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
			Minister of State for Finance	22 May 1998		321 days		Yashwant Sinha

See also

• Secular Progressive Alliance

References