| Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| Abbreviation: | DMK |
| President: | M. K. Stalin |
| General Secretary: | Durai Murugan |
| Founder: | C. N. Annadurai |
| Ppchairman: | Kanimozhi Karunanidhi |
| Loksabha Leader: | T. R. Baalu |
| Rajyasabha Leader: | Tiruchi Siva |
| State Seats Name: | Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly |
| State2 Seats Name: | Puducherry Legislative Assembly |
| Colours: | Black Red |
| Eci: | State Party[1] |
| Alliance: |
|
| Predecessor: | Justice Party (1917–1944) Dravidar Kazhagam (1944–1949) |
| Split: | Dravidar Kazhagam |
| Labour: | Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) |
| Youth: | Ilaignar Ani |
| Students: | Maanavar Ani |
| Women: | Magalir Ani |
| Headquarters: | Anna Arivalayam, 367–369, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai - 600018, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Symbol: | (The Rising Sun) |
| Flag: | Flag DMK.svg |
| Treasurer: | T. R. Baalu |
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in Tamil pronounced as /t̪iɾaːʋiɖɐ munːeːtrɐk kɐɻɐɡɐm/; ; DMK) is an Indian political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it is currently the ruling party, and the union territory of Puducherry, where it is currently the main opposition.[2]
The DMK was founded on 17 September 1949 by C. N. Annadurai (Anna) as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by E. V. Ramasami (Periyar).[3] [4] [5] DMK was headed by Annadurai as the general secretary from 1949 until his death on 4 February 1969.[6] He also served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969. Under Annadurai, in 1967, DMK became the first party, other than the Indian National Congress, to win the state-level elections with a clear majority on its own in any state in India. M. Karunanidhi (Kalaignar) followed Annadurai as the first president of the party from 1969 until his death on 7 August 2018.[7] He also served as the Chief Minister for five non-consecutive terms, in two of which he was dismissed by the Union government.[8] After Karunanidhi's death, his son and former deputy, M. K. Stalin, succeeded as the party president and as a Chief minister of TamilNadu state from May-2021.[9]
DMK is the forth-largest party in the Lok Sabha. It currently holds 125 seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, and the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance holds 159 out of 234.[10]
The DMK traces its roots to the South Indian Liberal Federation (Justice Party) founded by Dr C. Natesa Mudaliar in 1916, in the presence of P. Theagaraya Chetty, P. T. Rajan, T. M. Nair, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar and a few others in Victoria Public Hall Madras Presidency.[11] The Justice Party, whose objectives included social equality and justice, came to power in the first general elections to the Madras Presidency in 1920. Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmin upper began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in government jobs. The Justice Party's foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organization to represent the non-Brahmin upper castes in Madras and is seen as the start of the Dravidian movement.[12] [13]
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, a popular reformist leader at that time, had joined the Indian National Congress in 1919, to oppose what he considered the Brahminic leadership of the party. Periyar's participation at the Vaikom Satyagraha led him to start the Self-Respect Movement in 1926 which was rationalistic and "anti-Brahministic".[14] He quit Congress and in 1935 he joined the Justice Party.
In the 1937 elections, the Justice Party lost and the Indian National Congress under C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) came to power in Madras Presidency. Rajaji's introduction of Hindi as a compulsory subject in schools led to the anti-Hindi agitations, led by Periyar and his associates.[15]
In August 1944, Periyar created the 'Dravidar Kazhagam' out of the Justice Party and the Self-Respect Movement at the Salem Provincial Conference. The DK, conceived as a movement and not a political party, insisted on an independent nation for Dravidians called Dravida Nadu consisting of areas that were covered under the Madras Presidency.
The party at its inception retained the flag of the South Indian Liberal Federation, which had a picture of a traditional type of balance signifying the idea of equality.[16] Its central theme was to remove the degraded status imposed on Dravidians. To communicate this, the party adopted a black flag with a red circle inside it, with the black signifying their degradation and the red denoting the intention of the movement to uplift Dravidians.[17]
Over the years, many disagreements arose between Periyar and his followers. In 1949, several of his followers led by C. N. Annadurai decided to split from Dravidar Kazhagam, after Annadurai and part of the members decided to take part in electoral politics and Periyar had strong objection on it.[18]
The Dravidian philosophy culminated both politically and socially with DMK at the helm of administration. It was the first-ever subaltern movement in the history of sub-continent politics to have political representation from former lower-castes, and it was a marked move from generations of civic administrators from the upper-caste citizenry. This had a deep societal impact which resulted in increased political participation, which aided the representation of the emergent strata, enriched civic life, and subsequently strengthened the pluralist democracy.
The DMK's first foray into electoral politics, in the 1957 legislative assembly elections, was mixed. While it won 15 seats, many prominent leaders such as Annadurai and V. R. Nedunchezhiyan were defeated. It fared somewhat better in 1962, winning 50 seats and becoming the main opposition.[19]
See also: Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu.
The DMK, which split from the Dravidar Kazhagam in 1949, inherited the anti-Hindi imposition policies of its parent organization. Founder C.N. Annadurai had earlier participated in the anti-Hindi imposition agitations during 1938–40 and throughout the 1940s.
In July 1953, the DMK launched an agitation against the Union government's proposed name-change of Kallakudi to Dalmiapuram. They claimed that the town's proposed new name (after Ramkrishna Dalmia) symbolized the exploitation of South India by the North.[20] On 15 July, M. Karunanidhi (later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) and other DMK members removed the Hindi name from Dalmiapuram railway station's name board and protested on the tracks. In the altercation with the police that followed the protests, two DMK members lost their lives, and several others, including Karunanidhi and Kannadasan, were arrested.
The DMK continued its anti-Hindi Imposition policies throughout the 1950s, along with the secessionist demand for Dravida Nadu, in which it was originally more radical than the Dravida Kazhagam. On 28 January 1956, Annadurai, along with Periyar and Rajaji, signed a resolution passed by the Academy of Tamil Culture endorsing the continuation of English as the official language.[21] On 21 September 1957, the DMK convened an anti-Hindi Conference to protest against the imposition of Hindi. It observed 13 October 1957 as "anti-Hindi Day".[22]
On 31 July 1960, another open-air anti-Hindi conference was held in Kodambakkam, Madras. In November 1963, DMK dropped its secessionist demand in the wake of the Sino-Indian War and the passage of the anti-secessionist 16th Amendment to the Indian Constitution. However, the anti-Hindi stance remained and hardened with the passage of Official Languages Act of 1963. The DMK's view on Hindi's eligibility for official language status were reflected in Annadurai's response to the "numerical superiority of Hindi" argument: "If we had to accept the principle of numerical superiority while selecting our national bird, the choice would have fallen not on the peacock but on the common crow."[23]
In 1967, DMK came to power in the Madras State 18 years after its formation and 10 years after it had first entered electoral politics. This began the Dravidian era in the Madras province, which later became Tamil Nadu. In 1967, the Congress lost nine states to opposition parties, but it was only in Madras that a single non-Congress Party (namely, the DMK) won a majority. The electoral victory of 1967 is also reputed to be an electoral fusion among the non-Congress parties to avoid a split in the Opposition votes. Rajagopalachari, a former senior leader of the Congress Party, had by then left the Congress and launched the right-wing Swatantra Party. He played a vital role in bringing about the electoral fusion amongst the opposition parties to align against the Congress.[24] At that time, his cabinet was the youngest in the country.[25]
Annadurai legalized self-respect marriages for the first time the country. Such marriages did not involve priests presiding over the ceremonies, and thus a Brahmin was not needed to carry out the wedding.[26] Self-respect marriages were a brainchild of Periyar, who regarded the then conventional marriages as mere financial arrangements which often led to great debt through dowry. Self-respect marriages, according to him, encouraged inter-caste marriages and caused arranged marriages to be replaced by love marriages.
Annadurai was also the first to promise to subsidize the price of rice in order to campaign for his election. He promised one rupee a measure of rice, which he initially implemented once in government, but had to withdraw later. Subsidizing rice costs are still used as an election promise in Tamil Nadu.[27]
It was Annadurai's government that renamed Madras State to Tamil Nadu, its present-day name. The name change itself was first presented in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) of the Parliament of India by Bhupesh Gupta, a communist MP from West Bengal, but was then defeated. With Annadurai as chief minister, the state assembly succeeded in passing the bill renaming the state. Another major achievement of Annadurai's government was to introduce a two-language policy over the then popular three language formula. The three-language formula, which was implemented in the neighboring states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, entitled students to study three languages: the regional language, English and Hindi.
In 1969, Annadurai unexpectedly died. M.Karunanidhi was elected as his successor, defeating rival candidate V. R. Nedunchezhiyan. Karunanidhi would continue to head the DMK until his own death in 2018.
In the 1970s, M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.), a popular actor and the party treasurer, had a political feud with the party president Karunanidhi. In 1972, M.G.R. called for a boycott of the party's General Council. The crisis led to a call for a corruption probe by M.G.R. where he was a treasurer, and he was eventually suspended from the General Council by the high-power committee of DMK. He then created the new party named All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Indira Gandhi dismissed the Karunanidhi government in 1976 based on charges of possible secession and corruption. The DMK government has been indicted by the Sarkaria commission for corruption in allotting tenders for the Veeranam drainage project.[28]
The interim report of the Justice Jain Commission, which oversaw the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, indicted Karunanidhi for abetting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[29] The interim report recommended that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the DMK party be held responsible for abetting Rajiv Gandhi's murderers. The final report contained no such allegations.[30]
Karunanidhi's nephew, Murasoli Maran, was a Union Minister; however, it has been pointed out that he was in politics long before Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister in 1969.[31] Many political opponents and DMK party senior leaders have been critical of the rise of M. K. Stalin in the party. He was appointed as Mayor and later as Deputy CM of TN. But some of the party men have pointed out that Stalin has come up on his own.[32] Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi has been appointed as the Rajya Sabha MP twice in 2007 and 2013.[33] [34] Karunanidhi's nephew's son Dayanidhi Maran has been appointed as the central Minister.[35] Karunanidhi's grandson, son of Stalin Udhayanidhi Stalin, has been elected as the MLA of TN assembly.[36] Karunanidhi has been accused of helping Murasoli Maran's son Kalanithi Maran, who runs Sun TV Network, India's second largest television network. According to Forbes, Kalanidhi is among India's richest 20, with $2.9 billion.[37] It has been pointed out that Karunanidhi has hesitated to take action against his erring family members.[38] Karunanidhi is also accused of allowing Azhagiri to function as an extraconstitutional authority in Madurai.[39] The Dinakaran newspaper case was handed over to the CBI. But the District and Sessions court acquitted all the 17 accused in that case.[40]
Karunanidhi died on 7 August 2018, leaving the party in the hands of his son, M. K. Stalin. Stalin had been appointed as the working president in January 2017 when his father's health started declining and had previously been named heir apparent by his father. Stalin thus became the second DMK president since the party's inception.[41] On 3 February 2020, M. K. Stalin announced that Prashant Kishor was signed up as a party strategist for the upcoming 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election.[42]
On 25 March 2018, the DMK held a statewide conference in Erode and M. K. Stalin released five slogans at the conference. They were:[43] [44] [45]
M.K. Stalin formed the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu and led the alliance in the 2019 general election.[46] [47] M.K. Stalin and his alliance in Tamil Nadu won 39 out of 40 seats in the parliament and 12 out of 21 in the Assembly with a 52% vote share.[48] [49] The DMK-led alliance won the 2019 Tamil Nadu local body elections under the Secular Progressive alliance.[50] [51]
The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance won the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. The alliance won 159 seats out of 234 seats with 46% vote share.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam follows the principle of Duty, Dignity, and Discipline, as instructed by C. N. Annadurai. This involves protecting democratic rights in politics, establishing a non-dominant society, and carrying out reform work based on rationality to promote the revival of Dravidian ideology. The party aims to overcome poverty in the economic sphere and provide means for the well-being of all on an equitable basis. The party also aims to develop and promote the respective state languages without allowing other languages to dominate. The party believes in promoting the decentralization of powers from the Union government and creating autonomy in the states and federalism at the center.[52]
The anti-Hindi Imposition agitations of 1965 forced the central government to abandon its efforts to use Hindi as the only official language of the country.
After The Emergency invoked by Indira Gandhi, more state powers like education and medical care were moved from state control to national control. At the state conference in Trichy after the death of C.N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi announced the adoption of the "state autonomy" principle to advocate for state self-governance. In April 1974, the DMK government brought in a resolution in the House urging the Centre to accept the Rajamannar Committee recommendations on state autonomy and amend the Constitution of India to pave the way for a truly federal system.
DMK claims they are the successors of Justice Party.[53] DMK played a crucial role alongside Periyar in the protest for the first constitutional amendment ensuring the provision legalizing OBC reservation.[54] [55] DMK's one of the core ideology is OBC welfare [56] and has implemented reservation related policies in favour of OBCs [57] and SCs.[58]
DMK reconstituted the disabled persons welfare board to Differently Abled Persons Departments and the changed official terms for transgender individuals to more respectful terms like Thirunangai and Thirunambi.[59]
The party's election symbol is the "sun rising from between two mountains", with a black and red flag often pictured. The symbol was inspired by the leader and scriptwriter M. Karunanidhi's 1950s play Udaya Suryan and is intended to signify the "rising" spirit of the Dravidian people.[60]
In the 1957 poll, the DMK was not recognized by the Election Commission. The party was grouped as independents and was not united by its rising sun symbol and was forced to contest under the rooster symbol.[61]
| Party leader | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Popular vote | Outcome | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | C. N. Annadurai | 5 | 18.64% | 2,315,610 | rowspan="2" | ||
| 1967 | 18 | 51.79% | 7,996,264 | ||||
| 1971 | M. Karunanidhi | 2 | 55.61% | 8,869,095 | |||
| 1977 | 22 | 37.84% | 6,758,517 | ||||
| 1980 | 15 | 55.89% | 10,290,515 | ||||
| 1984 | 14 | 37.04% | 8,006,513 | ||||
| 1989 | 2 | 33.78% | 8,918,905 | rowspan="2" | |||
| 1991 | 27.64% | 6,823,581 | |||||
| 1996 | 17 | 54.96% | 14,940,474 | ||||
| 1998 | 11 | 42.72% | 10,937,809 | ||||
| 1999 | 6 | 46.41% | 12,638,602 | rowspan="3" | |||
| 2004 | 4 | 57.40% | 16,483,390 | ||||
| 2009 | 2 | 42.54% | 12,929,043 | ||||
| 2014 | 18 | 23.16% | 10,243,767 | ||||
| 2019 | M. K. Stalin | 24 | 32.76% | 14,363,332 | |||
| 2024 | 2 | 26.93% | 11,689,879 | 11,689,879 |
| Party leader | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Popular vote | Outcome | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu | ||||||||||
| 1962 | C. N. Annadurai | 37 | 27.10% | 3,435,633 | ||||||
| 1967 | 87 | 40.69% | 6,230,556 | rowspan="2" | ||||||
| 1971 | M. Karunanidhi | 47 | 48.58% | 7,654,935 | ||||||
| 1977 | 136 | 24.89% | 4,258,771 | rowspan="2" | ||||||
| 1980 | 11 | 22.1% | 4,164,389 | |||||||
| 1984 | 13 | 29.3% | 6,362,770 | |||||||
| 1989 | 116 | 37.89% | 9,135,220 | |||||||
| 1991 | 148 | 22.5% | 5,535,668 | |||||||
| 1996 | 171 | 53.77% | 14,600,748 | |||||||
| 2001 | 142 | 30.90% | 8,669,864 | |||||||
| 2006 | 65 | 26.50% | 8,728,716 | |||||||
| 2011 | 73 | 22.40% | 8,249,991 | |||||||
| 2016 | 66 | 31.39% | 13,670,511 | |||||||
| 2021 | M. K. Stalin | 44 | 37.7% | 17,430,179 | ||||||
| Puducherry | ||||||||||
| 1974 | M. Karunanidhi | 2 | 47,823 | rowspan="2" | ||||||
| 1977 | 1 | 30,441 | ||||||||
| 1980 | 11 | 68,030 | ||||||||
| 1985 | 9 | 87,754 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 4 | 101,127 | ||||||||
| 1991 | 5 | 96,607 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 3 | 105,392 | ||||||||
| 2001 | 83,679 | |||||||||
| 2006 | ||||||||||
| 2011 | 4 | 10.68% | 74,552 | |||||||
| 2016 | 1 | 8.9% | 70,836 | |||||||
| 2021 | M. K. Stalin | 4 | 18.51% | 154,858 | ||||||
| Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 5th | M. Karunanidhi | 3 | 0.26% | 36,466 | rowspan=2 | |||
| 1978 | 6th | 2 | 0.03% | 0.23% | 6,547 |
| Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 6th | M. Karunanidhi | 3 | 0.13% | 16,437 |
| Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4th | M. Karunanidhi | 1 | 0.02% | 1,682 |
| Member | Position in Government | Party Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| M. K. Stalin | President | ||
| Duraimurugan |
| General Secretary | |
| T. R. Baalu |
| Treasurer and Lok Sabha Leader | |
| K. N. Nehru | Minister for Municipal AdministrationMLA from Tiruchirappalli West | Party Principal Secretary | |
| I. Periyasamy | Minister for Rural AdministrationMLA from Aathoor | Deputy General Secretary | |
| K. Ponmudy | Minister for Higher EducationMLA from Tirukkovilur | Deputy General Secretary | |
| A. Raja | Member of Parliament (LS) from NilgirisFormer Union Minister for Information Technology | Deputy General Secretary | |
| Anthiyur P. Selvaraj | Member of Rajya Sabha,Former State Minister for Handlooms and Textile | Deputy General Secretary | |
| R. S. Bharathi[62] | Former Member of Parliament (RS)Former Chairman of Alandur Municipality | Organization Secretary | |
| T. K. S. Elangovan[63] | Former Member of Parliament (RS) | Official Spokesperson | |
| Udhayanidhi Stalin |
| Youth Wing Secretary | |
| Dr. T R B Rajaa |
| Information Technology Wing Secretary | |
| Helena Davidson | Former Member of Parliament (LS) from Kanniyakumari | Women's Wing Secretary | |
| CVMP Ezhilarasan | Member of Legislative Assembly from Kancheepuram | Students' Wing Secretary | |
| Dayanidhi Maran |
| Sports Wing Secretary | |
| Palanivel Thiagarajan |
| Assets Committee Secretary | |
| Dr Ezhilan Naganathan | Member of Legislative Assembly from Thousand Lights | Medical Wing Secretary | |
| M M Abdulla | Member of Parliament (RS) | NRI Wing Secretary |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term in office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018) | 27 July 1969 | 7 August 2018 | 49 years, 11 days | |
| Acting | M. K. Stalin (born 1953) | 4 January 2017 | 27 August 2018 | ||
| 2 | 28 August 2018 | Incumbent |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term in office | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | C. N. Annadurai (1909–1969) | 17 September 1949 | 24 April 1955 | 13 years, 350 days | ||
| 25 September 1960 | 3 February 1969 | |||||
| 2 | V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000) | 24 April 1955 | 24 September 1960 | 13 years, 254 days | ||
| 4 February 1969 | 16 May 1977 | |||||
| 3 | K. Anbazhagan (1922–2020) | 17 May 1977 | 7 March 2020 | 42 years, 295 days | ||
| 4 | Duraimurugan (born 1938) | 9 September 2020 | Incumbent |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term in office | Ministry | Constituency | Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Duration | |||||||
| 1 | C. N. Annadurai (1909–1969) | 14 January 1969 | 3 February 1969 | 20 days | Annadurai | Tamil Nadu Legislative Council | 4th (1967) | ||
| Acting | V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1910–1988) | 3 February 1969 | 10 February 1969 | 7 days | Nedunchezhiyan I | Triplicane | 4th (1967) | ||
| 2 | M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018) | 10 February 1969 | 14 March 1971 | Karunanidhi I | Saidapet | 4th (1967) | |||
| 15 March 1971 | 31 January 1976 | Karunanidhi II | 5th | ||||||
| 27 January 1989 | 30 January 1991 | Karunanidhi III | Harbour | 11th | |||||
| 13 May 1996 | 13 May 2001 | Karunanidhi IV | Chepauk | 11th | |||||
| 13 May 2006 | 15 May 2011 | Karunanidhi V | 13th | ||||||
| 3 | M. K. Stalin[64] [65] (born 1953) | 7 May 2021 | Incumbent | Stalin | Kolathur | 16th |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Elected constituency | Term of office | Assembly | Ministry | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | M. O. H. Farook (1937–2012) | Kalapet | 17 March 1969 | 2 January 1974 | 4 years, 291 days | 3rd | Farook II | B. D. Jatti | |
| 2 | M. D. R. Ramachandran (Unknown) | Mannadipet | 16 January 1980 | 23 June 1983 | 3 years, 158 days | 6th | Ramachandran I | B. T. Kulkarni | |
| 3 | 8 March 1990 | 2 March 1991 | 359 days | 8th | Ramachandran II | Chandrawati | |||
| 4 | R. V. Janakiraman (1941–2019) | Nellithope | 26 May 1996 | 21 March 2000 | 3 years, 300 days | 10th | Janakiraman | Rajendra Kumari Bajpai | |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Elected constituency | Chief Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | M. K. Stalin (born 1953) | 29 May 2009 | 15 May 2011 | 1 year, 351 days | 13th | Thousand Lights | M. Karunanidhi | ||
| 2 | Udhayanidhi Stalin (born 1977) | 28 September 2024 | Incumbent | 16th | Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni | M. K. Stalin |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Elected constituency | Term of office | Assembly | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 | V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000) | Triplicane | 29 March 1962 | 28 February 1967 | 4 years, 336 days | 3rd | S. Chellapandian | |
| 2 | M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018) | Anna Nagar | 25 July 1977 | 17 February 1980 | 5 years, 259 days | 6th | Munu Adhi | |
| 27 June 1980 | 18 August 1983 | 7th | K. Rajaram | |||||
| 3 | K. Anbazhagan (1922–2020) | Harbour | 24 May 2001 | 14 April 2006 | 4 years, 325 days | 12th | K. Kalimuthu | |
| 4 | M. K. Stalin (born 1953) | Kolathur | 4 June 2016 | 3 May 2021 | 4 years, 333 days | 15th | P. Dhanapal | |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Elected constituency | Term of office | Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 | R.V. Janakiraman | Nellithope | 22 March 2000 | 15 May 2001 | 10th | |||
| 16 May 2001 | 11 May 2006 | 11th | ||||||
| 2 | A. M. H. Nazeem | Karaikal | 29 May 2006 | May 2011 | 12th | |||
| 3 | R. Siva | Villianur | 8 May 2021[66] | Incumbent | 15th | |||
| No. | Name | Deputy Speaker | Took office | Left office | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pulavar K. Govindan | G. R. Edmund | 22 February 1969 | 14 March 1971 | |
| N. Ganapathy | 3 August 1973 | 3 July 1977 | |||
| 2 | K. A. Mathiazagan | P. Seenivasan | 24 March 1971 | 2 December 1972 | |
| Acting | P. Seenivasan (Acting Speaker) | 2 December 1972 | 3 August 1973 | ||
| 3 | M. Tamilkudimagan | V. P. Duraisamy | 8 February 1989 | 30 June 1991 | |
| 4 | P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan | Parithi Ilamvazhuthi | 23 May 1996 | 21 May 2001 | |
| 5 | R. Avudaiappan | V. P. Duraisamy | 19 May 2006 | 15 May 2011 | |
| 6 | M. Appavu | K. Pitchandi | 12 May 2021 | Incumbent | |
| No. | Portrait | Portfolio | Name | Term in office | Constituency | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | Minister of Industry | Murasoli Maran (1934–2003) | 01 June 1996 | 21 April 1997 | Chennai Central (Lok Sabha) | H. D. Deve Gowda | rowspan=4 | ||
| 2 | Minister of Surface Transport | T. G. Venkatraman (1931–2013) | 01 June 1996 | 21 April 1997 | Tindivanam (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| 3 | Minister of Defence | N. V. N. Somu (–) | 06 July 1996 | 21 April 1997 | Chennai North (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| 4 | Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas | T. R. Baalu (born 1941) | 06 July 1996 | 21 April 1997 | Chennai South (Lok Sabha) |
| No. | Portrait | Portfolio | Name | Term in office | Constituency | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | Minister of Industry | Murasoli Maran (1934–2003) | 21 April 1997 | 19 March 1998 | Chennai Central (Lok Sabha) | I. K. Gujral | rowspan=6 | ||
| 2 | Minister of Surface Transport | T. G. Venkatraman (1931–2013) | 21 April 1997 | 19 March 1998 | Tindivanam (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| Minister of Urban Affairs & Employment | 14 November 1997 | 12 December 1997 | |||||||
| 3 | Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas | T. R. Baalu (born 1941) | 21 April 1997 | 19 March 1998 | Chennai South (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| Minister of Non-Conventional Energy Sources | 11 January 1998 | 19 March 1998 | |||||||
| 4 | Minister of Defence | N. V. N. Somu (–) | 21 April 1997 | 14 November 1997 (died in office) | Chennai North (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| No. | Portrait | Portfolio | Name | Term in office | Constituency | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | Minister of Commerce & Industry | Murasoli Maran (1934–2003) | 13 October 1999 | 09 November 2002 | 3 years, 27 days | Chennai Central (Lok Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | rowspan=6 | |
| Minister without portfolio | 09 November 2002 | 23 November 2003 | |||||||
| 2 | Minister of Environment & Forests | T. R. Baalu (born 1941) | 13 October 1999 | 21 December 2003 | Chennai South (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| 3 | Minister of Non-Conventional Energy Sources [{{abbr|MoS(I/C)|Minister of State (Independent Charge)}}] | M. Kannappan (–) | 13 October 1999 | 30 December 2003 | Tiruchengode (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| 4 | Minister of Rural Development | A. Raja (born 1963) | 13 October 1999 | 30 September 2001 | Perambalur (Lok Sabha) | ||||
| Minister of Health & Family Welfare | 30 September 2000 | 21 December 2003 | |||||||
There are two major parties that have been formed as a result of splits from the DMK, such as
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party runs two newspapers, one in English and one in Tamil, namely The Rising Sun (weekly journal) and Murasoli (daily journal), respectively.[74]
Kalaignar TV is a channel started on 15 September 2007 and managed by Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Dayalu Ammal, the daughter and wife of Karunanidhi. The sister channels of Kalaignar are Kalaignar Isai Aruvi (24×7 Tamil music channel), Kalaignar Seithigal (24×7 Tamil news channel), Kalaignar Sirippoli (24×7 Tamil comedy channel), Kalaignar Chithiram (24×7 Tamil cartoon channel), Kalaignar Murasu(24×7 Tamil movie channel) and Kalaignar Asia.[75]