1980 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu

For State Assembly election, see 1980 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election.

Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1980

←  1977 January 1980 1984  →
39 (of 542) seats to the Lok Sabha
Registered	28,113,893
Turnout	66.76% 0.37%
First party Second party   Leader M. Karunanidhi M. G. Ramachandran Party DMK AIADMK Alliance Congress Alliance Janata alliance+LF Leader's seat Did not contest Did not contest Seats won 37 2 Seat change 21 21 Popular vote 10,290,515 7,392,655 Percentage 55.89% 40.14% Swing 15.01% 13.73%
1980 Election map (by constituencies) Green = INC(I)+ and Blue = JP+
Seat wise Result
Prime Minister before election Charan Singh JP(S) Elected Prime Minister Indira Gandhi INC(I)

The 1980 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu saw elections for all 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The result was a landslide victory for the Indian National Congress (Indira) and its ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, who won 37 out of 39 seats. Many observers considered it an upset defeat ^[1] for the ruling state party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and its general secretary M. G. Ramachandran, which only won 2 seats—Gobichettipalayam and Sivakasi. Prior to the election, INC leader Indira Gandhi had formed an alliance with the DMK, resulting in an important part of her victory in the nationwide election that returned her to the office of Prime Minister of India.

Seat Allotment

Congress Front

No.	Party		Election Symbol	Leader	Seats
1.		Indian National Congress		Indira Gandhi	22
2.		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		M. Karunanidhi	16
3.		Indian Union Muslim League			1

Janata Alliance

No.	Party		Election Symbol	Leader	Seats
1.		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		M. G. Ramachandran	24
2.		Janata Party		P. Ramachandran	9
3.		Communist Party of India (Marxist)		A. Balasubramaniam	3
4.		Communist Party of India		P. Manickam	3

List of Candidates

Constituency
		DMK+			AIADMK+
1	Madras North		DMK	G. Lakshmanan		AIADMK	M. S. Abdul Khader
2	Madras Central		DMK	A. Kalanithi		JP	P. Ramachandran
3	Madras South		INC(I)	R. Venkataraman		AIADMK	E. V. K. F. Sulochana Sampath
4	Sriperumbudur (SC)		DMK	T. Nagaratnam		AIADMK	S. M. Jaganathan
5	Chengalpattu		INC(I)	Era. Anbarasu		AIADMK	R. M. Mohanarangam
6	Arakkonam		INC(I)	A. M. Velu		AIADMK	A. M. Ragunathan
7	Vellore		Ind.	A. K. A. Abdul Samad		JP	V. Dhandayuthapani
8	Tiruppattur		DMK	S. Murugaiyan		AIADMK	M. M. Pandurangan
9	Vandavasi		INC(I)	D. Pattuswamy		AIADMK	C. A. M. Venugopal Gounder
10	Tindivanam		INC(I)	S. S. Ramaswamy Padayatchi		AIADMK	V. M. Thirukkuralar Munuswamy
11	Cuddalore		INC(I)	R. Muthukumar		AIADMK	M. Arvinda Bala Pajanor
12	Chidambaram (SC)		DMK	V. Kulandaivelu		CPI(M)	S. Mahalingam
13	Dharmapuri		DMK	K. Arjunan		JP	G. Bhuvarahan
14	Krishnagiri		INC(I)	K. Ramamurthy		AIADMK	V. M. Rajahagopal
15	Rasipuram (SC)		INC(I)	B. Devarajan		AIADMK	S. M. Anbalagan
16	Salem		DMK	C. Palaniappan		AIADMK	P. Kamnan
17	Tiruchengode		DMK	M. Kandaswamy		AIADMK	R. M. Kolanthaivelu
18	Nilgiris		INC(I)	R. Prabhu		JP	T. T. S. Thippiah
19	Gobichettipalayam		INC(I)	N. R. Thiruvankadam		AIADMK	G. Chinnasamy
20	Coimbatore		DMK	R. Ram Mohan (Era Mohan)		CPI	Parvathi Krishnan
21	Pollachi (SC)		DMK	C. T. Dhandapani		AIADMK	M. A. M. Natarajan
22	Palani		INC(I)	A. Sanapathi Goundar		JP	P. S. K. Lakshimipathyraju
23	Dindigul		DMK	K. Maya Thevar		AIADMK	V. M. Rajan Chellappa
24	Madurai		INC(I)	A. G. Subburaman		CPI(M)	A. M. Balasubramanyam
25	Periyakulam		DMK	C. Natarajan (Cumbum)		AIADMK	S. M. Ramasamy
26	Karur		INC(I)	S. A. Dorai Sebastian		AIADMK	K. M. Kanagaraj
27	Tiruchirappalli		DMK	N. Selvaraju		CPI(M)	T. K. Rangarajan
28	Perambalur (SC)		INC(I)	K. B. S. Mani		AIADMK	S. M. Thangaraju
29	Mayiladuturai		INC(I)	N. Kudanthai Ramalingam		JP	S. M. Govindasamy
30	Nagapattinam (SC)		DMK	Thazhai Karunanithi		CPI	K. Murugayan
31	Thanjavur		INC(I)	S. Singaravadivel		AIADMK	K. M. Thangamuthu
32	Pudukottai		INC(I)	V. N. Swamynathan		AIADMK	M. Kuzha Chellaiya
33	Sivaganga		INC(I)	R. V. Swaminathan		CPI	D. Pandian
34	Ramanathapuram		DMK	M. S. K. Sathiyendran		AIADMK	P. M. Anbalagan
35	Sivakasi		INC(I)	V. Jayalakshmi		AIADMK	N. M. Sourdararajan
36	Tirunelveli		DMK	D. S. A. Sivaprakasam		AIADMK	V. M. Arunachalam
37	Tenkasi (SC)		INC(I)	M. Arunachalam		JP	S. Rajagopalan
38	Tiruchendur		INC(I)	K. T. Kosalram		JP	N. Soundarapandian
39	Nagercoil		INC(I)	N. Dennis		JP	Pon. Vijayaraghavan

Voting and results

Election map of results based on parties. Colours are based on the results table on the left

Alliance		Party		Popular Vote	Percentage	Swing	Seats won	Seat Change
	DMK+		Indian National Congress (Indira)	5,821,411	31.62%	9.35%	20	6
			Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	4,236,537	23.01%	4.40%	16	14
			Independent	232,567	1.26%		1
			Total	10,290,515	55.89%	15.01%	37	21
	AIADMK+		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	4,674,064	25.38%	4.66%	2	15
			Janata Party	1,465,782	7.96%	9.71%	0	3
			Communist Party of India	660,940	3.59%	1.01%	0	3
			Communist Party of India (Marxist)	591,869	3.21%	1.65%	0
			Total	7,392,655	40.14%	13.73%	2	21
	Janata Party (Secular)			98,729	0.54%	new party	0	new party
	Indian National Congress (Urs)			41,671	0.23%	new party	0	new party
	Republican Party of India			9,497	0.05%	0.03%	0
	Independents			579,677	3.15%	2.07%	0
Total				18,412,744	100.00%		39
Valid Votes				18,412,744	98.11%
Invalid Votes				355,074	1.89%
Total Votes				18,767,818	100.00%
Registered Voters/Turnout				28,113,893	66.76%	0.37%

• The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was part of an alliance with Indira Congress in 1977, while the DMK is in alliance with them for the 1980 election

List of Elected MPs

Constituency		Winner					Runner-up					Margin
		Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Votes	%
1	Madras North	G. Lakshmanan		DMK	297,268	57.33	M. S. M. Abdul Khader		AIADMK	197,950	38.18	99,318	19.15
2	Madras Central	A. Kalanithi		DMK	290,199	59.54	P. Ramachandran		JP	185,150	37.99	105,049	21.55
3	Madras South	Ramaswamy Venkataraman		INC(I)	328,836	60.34	E. V. K. Sampath		AIADMK	208,474	38.25	120,362	22.09
4	Sriperumbudur (SC)	T. Nagaratnam		DMK	253,912	57.45	S. Jaganathan		AIADMK	171,135	38.72	82,777	18.73
5	Chengalpattu	Era. Anbarasu		INC(I)	283,163	59.86	R. Mohanarangam		AIADMK	173,147	36.61	110,016	23.25
6	Arakkonam	A. M. Velu		INC(I)	278,516	60.83	A. M. Ragunathan		AIADMK	161,155	35.20	117,361	25.63
7	Vellore	A. K. A. Abdul Samad		IND	232,567	55.11	V. Dhandayuthapani		JP	153,021	36.26	79,546	18.85
8	Tiruppattur	S. Murugian		DMK	274,216	62.84	M. Pandurangan		AIADMK	158,855	36.40	115,361	26.44
9	Vandavasi	D. Pattuswamy		INC(I)	285,549	62.36	C. A. Venugopal Gounder		AIADMK	158,395	34.59	127,154	27.77
10	Tindivanam	S. S. Ramaswamy Padayatchi		INC(I)	290,069	65.50	V. Munuswamy Thirukkuralar		AIADMK	133,171	30.07	156,898	35.43
11	Cuddalore	R. Muthukumaran		INC(I)	262,694	59.39	Arvinda Bala Pajanor		AIADMK	154,043	34.83	108,651	24.56
12	Chidambaram (SC)	V. Kulandaivelu		DMK	302,523	63.59	S. Mahalingam		CPI(M)	163,798	34.43	138,725	29.16
13	Dharmapuri	K. Arjunan		DMK	209,603	55.55	G. Buvarahan		JP	142,732	37.83	66,871	17.72
14	Krishnagiri	K. Ramamurthy		INC(I)	222,839	63.03	V. Rajahagopal		AIADMK	122,328	34.60	100,511	28.43
15	Rasipuram (SC)	B. Devarajan		INC(I)	236,112	54.58	S. Anbalagan		AIADMK	176,240	40.74	59,872	13.84
16	Salem	C. Palaniappan		DMK	233,971	50.85	P. Kamnan		AIADMK	207,713	45.14	26,258	5.71
17	Tiruchengode	M. Kandaswamy		DMK	276,015	51.51	R. Kolanthaivelu		AIADMK	254,797	47.55	21,218	3.96
18	Nilgiris	R. Prabhu		INC(I)	273,614	57.18	T. T. S. Thippiah		JP	187,871	39.26	85,743	17.92
19	Gobichettipalayam	G. Chinnasamy		AIADMK	210,808	49.90	N. R. Thiruvankadam		INC(I)	196,933	46.62	13,875	3.28
20	Coimbatore	R. Ram Mohan Alias Era Mohan		DMK	276,975	54.29	Parvathi Krishnan		CPI	220,866	43.29	56,109	11.00
21	Pollachi (SC)	C. T. Dhandapani		DMK	233,261	51.41	M. A. M. Natarajan		AIADMK	217,526	47.94	15,735	3.47
22	Palani	A. Sanapathi Goundar		INC(I)	230,733	53.41	P. S. K. Lakshimipathyraju		JP	171,165	39.62	59,568	13.79
23	Dindigul	K. Maya Thevar		DMK	244,669	51.78	V. Rajan Chellappa		AIADMK	217,923	46.12	26,746	5.66
24	Madurai	A. G. Subburaman		INC(I)	292,380	55.57	A. Balassubramanyam		CPI(M)	223,185	42.42	69,195	13.15
25	Periyakulam	N. Natarajan Cumbum		DMK	255,204	51.30	S. Ramasamy		AIADMK	235,322	47.30	19,882	4.00
26	Karur	S. A. Dorai Sebastian		INC(I)	281,149	55.48	K. Kanagaraj		AIADMK	207,015	40.85	74,134	14.63
27	Tiruchirappalli	N. Selvaraju		DMK	278,485	54.32	T. K. Rangarajan		CPI(M)	204,886	39.96	73,599	14.36
28	Perambalur (SC)	K. B. S. Mani		INC(I)	282,767	58.89	S. Thangaraju		AIADMK	183,595	38.24	99,172	20.65
29	Mayiladuturai	N. Kudanthai Ramalingam		INC(I)	291,625	57.20	S. Govindasamy		JP	199,620	39.16	92,005	18.04
30	Nagapattinam (SC)	Karunanithi-Thazhai		DMK	278,561	50.98	K. Murugayan		CPI	267,887	49.02	10,674	1.96
31	Thanjavur	S. Singaravadivel		INC(I)	268,382	52.94	K. Thangamuthu		AIADMK	223,843	44.15	44,539	8.79
32	Pudukkottai	V. N. Swamynathan		INC(I)	294,494	49.92	Kuzha Chellaiya		AIADMK	278,395	47.19	16,099	2.73
33	Sivaganga	R. V. Swaminathan		INC(I)	306,748	60.81	D. Pandian		CPI	172,187	34.14	134,561	26.67
34	Ramanathapuram	M. S. K. Sathiyendran		DMK	275,049	56.66	P. Anbalagan		AIADMK	190,916	39.33	84,133	17.33
35	Sivakasi	N. Sourdararajan		AIADMK	234,654	46.07	V. Jayalakshmi		INC(I)	228,042	44.77	6,612	1.30
36	Tirunelveli	D. S. A. Sivaprakasam		DMK	256,626	54.89	V. Arunachalam		AIADMK	196,664	42.06	59,962	12.83
37	Tenkasi (SC)	M. Arunachalam		INC(I)	272,260	62.42	S. Rajagopalan		JP	163,944	37.58	108,316	24.84
38	Tiruchendur	K. T. Kosalram		INC(I)	227,395	51.78	N. Sounthara Pandian		JP	113,576	25.86	113,819	25.92
39	Nagercoil	N. Dennis		INC(I)	187,111	51.32	P. Vijayaraghavan		JP	148,703	40.78	38,408	10.54

Post-election Union Council of Ministers from Tamil Nadu

Cabinet Ministers

Minister	Party	Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha	Portfolios
R. Venkataraman	INC	Madras South	Ministry of Finance

See also

• Elections in Tamil Nadu

References

1. "From the archives: Why is 1980 Tamil Nadu Assembly election worthy of note?". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

Bibliography

Volume I, 1980 Indian general election, 7th Lok Sabha

External links

• Website of Election Commission of India
• CNN-IBN Lok Sabha Election History