The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 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. It 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. The party is adhering to the socio-democratic and social justice principles based on C. N. Annadurai collectively coined as Annaism by M.G.R.
Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran, also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist and filmmaker who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 till his death in 1987. He was the founder of AIADMK and mentor of J. Jayalalithaa. On 19 March 1988, M.G.R. was posthumously honoured with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam Popularly Known as O.P.S.(born 14 January 1951) is an Indian politician who served as the 6th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 3 terms from 2001 -2002, 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 and the 2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 21 August 2017 to 6 May 2021, one time served as the acting Chief Minister. He is currently the party Treasurer of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam since 28 August 2007.
T. T. V. Dhinakaran is an Indian politician and founding General Secretary of Amma Makkal Munneetra Kazagam. In the past he was the Treasurer of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party and served as the Member of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. He was expelled from the AIADMK in August 2017. He also served as former Member of the 15th Tamil Nadu Assembly from Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (2017-2021). He is the nephew of V. K. Sasikala. He won the highly anticipated RK Nagar by-election in December 2017. On 15 March 2018 Dhinakaran launched his political party named Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam.
Dravidian parties include an array of regional political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, which trace their origins and ideologies either directly or indirectly to the Justice party and the Dravidian movement of C. Natesanar and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. The Dravidian movement was based on the linguistic divide in India, where most of the Northern Indian, Eastern Indian and Western Indian languages are classified as Indo-Aryan, whereas the South Indian languages are classified as Dravidian. Dravidian politics has developed by associating itself to the Dravidian community. The original goal of Dravidian politics was to achieve social equality, but it later championed the cause of ending the domination of North India over the politics and economy of the South Indian province known as Madras Presidency.
The twelfth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 10 May 2001. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-led front won the elections and its general secretary, J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister, even though she could not legally run as MLA in this election. She was unanimously nominated as Chief Minister by her party and was ready to serve her second term. But due to criminal and corruption charges from her first term, on 21 September 2001, a five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled in a unanimous verdict that "a person who is convicted for a criminal offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years cannot be appointed the Chief Minister of a State under Article 164 (1) read with (4) and cannot continue to function as such". Thereby, the bench decided that "in the appointment of Dr. J. Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister there has been a clear infringement of a Constitutional provision and that a writ of quo warranto must issue". In effect, her appointment as Chief Minister was declared null and invalid with retrospective effect. Therefore, technically, she was not the Chief Minister in the period between 14 May 2001 and 21 September 2001. After her resignation on 21 September 2001, she put in O. Panneerselvam, as the official 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, until she could clear up the charges from her first term, so she can take up the mantle of Chief Minister officially, on 2 March 2002.
The ninth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 21 January 1989. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the Chief Minister. It was his third term in office. The DMK was in power only for a short term, as it was dismissed on 31 January 1991 by the Indian Prime minister Chandra Shekhar using Article 356 (Otherwise) of the Indian Constitution.
The Dharmapuri bus burning occurred on 2 February 2000 in Ilakiyampatti, on the outskirts of Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, India. Three students from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (TNAU) were burned to death in a bus by AIADMK cadres after the conviction of Jayalaitha by a special court for the Kodaikanal Pleasant Stay Hotel case.
Edappadi K. Palaniswami, also known as E.P.S., is an Indian politician and the leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He served as the 7th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, from 2017 to 2021. He is the Headquarters Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Arun Pandian is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician. He began his career as an actor as part of the critically acclaimed film Oomai Vizhigal (1986). After retiring from acting, he took the post of chief producer for the London-based Ayngaran International, a film production and distribution company, however, he later started his own production and distribution company A&P Groups.
Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989, she was the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their "Amma" (Mother) and "Puratchi Thalaivi". Her critics in the media and the opposition accused her of fostering a personality cult and of demanding absolute loyalty from AIADMK legislators and ministers, who often publicly prostrated themselves before her.
K. T. Rajenthra Bhalaji is a former minister and former member elected in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Sivakasi constituency in 2011 and 2016. He represented the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party.
Vivekanandan Krishnaveni Sasikala, also known by her married name Sasikala Natarajan, and often referred to by her initials VKS, is a former Indian politician. She was a close associate of J. Jayalalithaa, the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who headed the AIADMK from 1989 until her death in 2016. After Jayalalithaa's death, the party's General Council elected her as the Secretary General of AIADMK. Before entering the Central Prison in Bengaluru, Sasikala appointed Edappadi Palanisamy as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Palanisamy and other ministers removed her from the post and expelled her from the party in September 2017. After her expulsion she went to court over her removal as AIADMK General Secretary. The case is still pending judgement.
The 2014 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state on 24 April 2014.
The Pleasant Stay hotel case was a case against Jayalalithaa, the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a state in South India during her tenure in 1991-1996. Jayalalitha and her ministerial colleague, V. R. Nedunchezhiyan and T. M. Selvaganapathy, were charged with misusing the office to allow Pleasant Stay Hotel in Kodaikanal to build seven floors against the norms. The case and charge sheet were filed during the following Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government headed by Karunanidhi in 1996. Jayalalitha and Selvaganapathy were convicted in the lower court, which sentenced her to one-year imprisonment to the two and three others involved. The case had political implications as the aftermath of violence created a furor in the state. The statewide violence resulted in the burning of five buses, damaging fifty buses, and leaving 40 people injured. Three girls students of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University were burnt alive in a bus in Dharmapuri. The three AIADMK party workers who were convicted in the case received a death sentence in the case in 2007, but it was commuted to life imprisonment.The case had political implications as Jayalalithaa was disqualified from contesting the 2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. Though Jayalalithaa's nomination papers were rejected, she took oath as chief minister after the victory of AIADMK in the elections. The Supreme Court disqualified her in September 2001, resulting in her stepping down and elevation of O. Panneerselvam as the chief minister. The governor of Tamil Nadu, Fathima Beevi, who administered oath to J. Jayalalithaa, was advised to step down by the union ministry, who also sent the report to the President of India.
The Fifteenth Legislative Assembly Election was held on 16 May 2016 for the 232 seats of the Legislative Assembly in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. AIADMK under J. Jayalalithaa won the elections and became the first ruling party to be re-elected in Tamil Nadu since 1984, though with a simple majority. DMK won half of the seats it contested but its allies performed poorly; notably, the Indian National Congress won 16% of the seats they contested and the alliance lost due to its poor performance. The votes were counted on 19 May 2016. In the previous election in 2011, AIADMK, under the leadership of Jayalalithaa, won a thumping majority and formed the government, while DMDK chief Vijayakanth served as the Leader of Opposition until January 2016. This was the last election that J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi contested, as they both died in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
Deepa Jayakumar, also known as J. Deepa, is a former politician and journalist.
The Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu. AMMK is a Dravidian party founded by T. T. V. Dhinakaran at Madurai on 15 March 2018 as a breakaway faction from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. TTV Dhinakaran were assigned the post of president and general secretary of the party respectively. Dhinakaran was also elected as national convener by his party members.
During the 2016–2021 timeframe, by-elections were held in Tamil Nadu, India, due to the following events:
The Sixteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election was held on 6 April 2021, to elect representatives from the 234 constituencies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election, ending the decade-long reign of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The DMK's leader M. K. Stalin became the eighth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and the 12th Chief Minister since the 1956 reorganization. He replaced Edappadi K. Palaniswami of the AIADMK.
