Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The fourteenth legislative assembly election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members from 234 constituencies in the India
n state of Tamil Nadu
. Results were released on 13 May 2011. Two major parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(AIADMK) faced the election as coalitions of multiple political parties: DMK front consisted of 8 parties and the AIADMK of 11 parties. Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
(DMDK), which had contested the previous elections independently, allied with AIADMK coalition. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
boycotted the election following disagreement with Jayalalitha over seat-sharing. Tamil film actor Vijay was openly involved in Tamil Nadu politics for the first time by extending his support for ADMK.
The outgoing Karunanidhi government was noted for the construction of new assembly building
in Chennai
, execution of various developmental projects and implementation of new entitlement programs including free health care for the poor and issuance of a range of freebies such as color television to all. However, these numerous achievements were overshadowed by other major issues such as increasing prices of essential items, 2G spectrum scam
and undue influence of Karunanidhi's extended family in various aspects of Tamil politics and business.
The election commission enforced stringent measures to curb the widespread abuse of power to bribe voters that was common in previous elections; it also imposed strict campaign descipline by imposing the 10 PM curfew. The commission headed by the chief election officer Praveen Kumar
was commended for conducting the election in a strict and fair manner. The election recorded the highest polling ever in the state - 77.8% of the total electorate voted in the election surpassing 76.57% polled in 1967 election.
AIADMK front won the election winning in 203 constituencies; the AIADMK party alone secured a simple majority by carrying 150 seats and became eligible to form the government without requiring the support of its coalition partners. DMDK won 29 seats, more than the 23 seats won by DMK and opted to serve as the official opposition party. Political analysts concluded that the election was a referendum on the outgoing DMK government and the powerful anti-incumbency sentiment helped the ADMK colaition. J. Jayalalitha along with 33 ministers was sworn-in as the Chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time on 16 May 2011 by governor Surjit Singh Barnala
.
and all over Tamil Nadu. However, the election was dominated by three major issues, increase in price of essential commodities, 2G Spectrum scandal
and nepotism
. Inflation was high during late 2010 to early 2011; The price of food and other essential commodities had increased exponentially affecting middle class and poor people: Onions were sold for Rs. 100, tomatoes for Rs. 80 and Jasmine flower for Rs. 1200 per kilo gram. This historical rise in price of essential food items was believed to be due to increased rainfall in North Indian states. The 2G spectrum scam involved the issue of 122 licenses of the 2G spectrum to 85 companies including many new telecom companies with little or no experience in the telecom sector at a price set in the year 2001. The scam was believed to have costed 67,719 crore (US$15.03 billion) to the Indian exchequer. A. Raja, Union telecommunications minister from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) in relation to the case. Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha member from DMK and Chief minister's daughter and Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV
were also included in the chargesheet filed by CBI. The five years of karunanidhi's rule also saw an undue influence of his extended family members in various aspects of Tamil business and politics, which Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(CPI (M)) general secretary Prakash Karat
characterised as,
defeated Indian National Congress for the first time and subsequently, Congress never won an election in the state.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, political wing of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) constituted a five-member committee to hold consultations with Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) for seat sharing. The party had decided to support ADMK in a resolution adopted at a high level meeting citing deteriorating law and order and corruption. Naan Tamizhar party president Seeman
also expressed his support for ADMK on 10 January and said his decision is based on his opposition to INC which he claimed works against the interests of Sri Lankan Tamils. Cho Ramaswamy, founder of Thuglak
magazine, was actively involved in the formation of alliances. He supported ADMK and encouraged other parties to do so as well. On the 41st anniversary of the founding of Thuglak on 14 January, he delivered an address that strongly opposed ruling DMK party. He encouraged Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
(DMDK) to forge an alliance with AIADMK. Communist Party of India
Tamil Nadu state secretary D. Pandian
also called for DMDK to join the ADMK coalition to defeat DMK and officially announced the continuation of CPI's coalition with ADMK on January 29. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(CPM) announced its decision to contest the election with ADMK on 25 January.
Despite the strained relationship between Indian National Congress (INC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), ADMK leader Jayalalitha ruled out coalition with INC on 19 January. Tamil actor Karthik
announced his party's (Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi) support to ADMK after meeting Jayalalitha on 19 January. Hindu Munnani
leader Rama Gopalan ruled out support to ADMK coalition on 20 January citing the participation of anti-Hindu forces in the fold.
DMDK officially announced their alliance with AIADMK and started their negotiations. This brought to an end the possibilities of 3rd Front and DMDK contesting the elections on their own.
Vijay's Makkal Iyakkam supported AADMK Front. He delivered a speech in a rally attended by an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in Nagapattinam
on February 22 condemning the actions of Sri Lankan military against Tamil Nadu fishermen.S. A. Chandrasekhar
, noted film director and father of actor Vijay met with Jayalalitha three times during the run-up to the election and announced Makkal Iyakkam's decision to support the ADMK front in Trichy on March 27.
announced the continuation of Indian Union Muslim League
's coalition with DMK on 24 January 2011. After meeting Karunanidhi at his home on 16 January, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said his party will work for the victory of DMK coalition. In a speech given during the wedding of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Periyakaruppan
's son in Chennai, Karunanidhi expressed his desire to step down from Chiefministership and continue as the leader of the party. Karunanidhi, during his trip to New Delhi
for attending Chief Ministers meeting on 30 January, said that Indian National Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal, Muslim League and Pattali Makkal Katchi
are in the DMK coalition. But Ramadoss, the leader of PMK denied that and said no final decision has been taken on coalition. However PMK later joined the DMK alliance and was allotted 31 seats. It was later reduced to 30 to accommodate Congress which was firm on contesting 63 seats. Mylapore
MLA
and actor-turned politician S. V. Shekhar, joined Congress on February 6, 2011 after being expelled from AIADMK in 2009. Although Mylapore constituency was allotted to congress party, it did not give the chance to S.V. Shekhar. Instead the party allotted it to Jayanthi Thangabalu, the wife of TN Congress president K.V. Thangabalu. However her nomination was rejected by election commission citing incomplete submission of relevant documents. The nomination of K.V. Thangabalu, who was the replacement candidate was accepted making him the official congress candidate.
But after days of intense bargaining, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress on March 9 struck a deal, under which the Congress would contest 63 seats.
(MDMK) boycotted the election following its withdrawal from the ADMK alliance as ADMK did not award the party any coalition constituency. Makkal Sakthi Katchi (Lok Satta Party), the party founded by Jayaprakash Narayan
contested in 35 constituencies in 18 districts. Some of the candidates of the party were members/coordinators from the Non-Government Organisation 5th Pillar who were famous for issuing zero rupees notes to fight corruption. The party was headed in Tamil Nadu by a steering committee composed of six people including Vijay Anand of 5th Pillar.
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) although a major force in North India
had struggled to make a foothold in Tamil Nadu . BJP leader L.Ganesan
declared on 13 January that BJP will go alone in the elections . BJP announced its Candidate list on March 18. Subramanian swamy leader of Janata Party announced JP will face the elections in alliance with BJP and will contest in 10 seats. JD(U) has announced it will contest 8 seats in alliance with BJP.
Tamil film actor Karthik
's Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi
entered the election as a member of ADMK coalition. When no seat was allocated to his party by ADMK, he decided to contest the election alone in 25 to 40 seats. His party with sizeable Thevar
votes in southern Tamil Nadu is believed to eat into the AIADMK votebank. In 2006, former AIADMK minister Nainar Nagendran lost by 2,000 votes in Tirunelveli, where Karthik's party polled more than the margin. Two weeks later his split from ADMK, he announced his party will contest independently in 19 constituencies and support DMK in 213 constituencies.
Educationist-turned-politician T. R. Pachamuthu
's Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) leads the third front. It comprises Tamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam
of John Pandian, Samooka Samathuva Padai of retired IAS officer, P Sivakami, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Peravai and VOC Peravai. The front is fielding candidates in more than 150 constituencies .
Political observers feel that the IJK could poll 3,000 to 5,000 votes in many constituencies in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Salem districts where Pachamuthu's Udayar
community has sizeable presence. The Samooka Samathuva Padai will mobilize significant dalit votes in constituencies like Tindivanam, Krishnarayapuram, Haroor and Gangavalli. Sivakami herself is contesting from Gangavalli . John Pandian has some influence in Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Dindigul and Tirunelveli districts.
Bahujan Samaj Party which is ruling in Uttar Pradesh has decided to field candidates for all 234 seats and will be contesting alone . The party announced its candidate list on March 18. Puratchi Bharatham led by MLA JeganMurthy which was part of DMK alliance from 2004 left the alliance due to seat sharing issue.It will contest 40 seats on its own. Social Democratic Party of India has also plunged into the Tamil Nadu election fray with a view to garnering Muslim votes. They are concentrating on Coimbatore, Ramanathapuram and some parts of Chennai. Ahila Indiya Parampariya Meenavar Sangam decided to contest in 27 constituencies that constitute a major population of fishermen. The decision was made in a meeting of fishermen's unions from across Tamil Nadu held in Pattinapakkam headed by its general secreatary Rubeshkumar. Arundhathiar (a section of dalits) outfit headed by R Adhiyaman has fielded candidates in 20 segments in western Tamil Nadu .
launched a vigorous campaign to defeat DMK
; It made a resolution to call all parties to come together to defeat the ruling DMK in a conference held in Salem on 8 January presided over by its leader Vijayakanth.
AIADMK chief Jayalalitha campaigned supporting the candidates of her alliance across the entire state from March 24 till on April 11. She promised to provide the people of Tamil Nadu with golden reign, if they voted out the ruling party. Tamil film director R. V. Udayakumar, actors senthil
, Gundu Kalyanam, Ponnambalam, C. R. Saraswathi, Radha Ravi
and Anandaraj
campaigned for AIADMK front. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat
characterized the DMK's rule as a dark chapter in the history of Tamil Nadu and the 2G spectrum scam had shamed its people. Communist Party of India general secretary A. B. Bardhan exhorted Jayalalithaa to lead the battle to unseat the corrupt regime at the Centre after its victory in Tamil Nadu.
, leader of Pattali Makkal Katchi
expressed his dissatisfaction with people from film industry ruling Tamil Nadu since 1967. He also urged voters not to vote for Vijayakanth with long career as a Tamil actor. Expressing dissatisfaction that he could not be elected to Chief Ministership, Ramadoss complained — in a meeting held in Mayilam — that Vanniars with a total population of 2.5 crores in Tamil Nadu never elected one of their own for Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK), a political party in the western districts of Tamilnadu, complained about the neglect of Kongu region by the successive governments in a conference held at Karur
. Er. Eswaran, general secretary of KMK, urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development in the Kongu region. Comedy actor Vadivelu
campaigned for the DMK Front. Telugu actor and politician Chiranjeevi who had recently merged his party Praja Rajyam with Congress in Andhra Pradesh also campaigned for the DMK front. Actor turned Union Minister Napoleon, director K. Bhagyaraj, and actors Kushboo
and Vaagai Chadrasekar campaigned for DMK . Congress President Sonia Gandhi
shared the stage with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in an election rally highlighting the strides made by the state under the latter’s leadership. Addressing a rally near Marina beach
in Chennai, Gandhi said Tamil Nadu had become a front-ranking state whose ideas of development and welfare were copied by the rest. All India Congress Committee
general secretary Rahul Gandhi
appealed to the people of Tamil Nadu to support the Democratic Progressive Alliance to further the development and socialistic agenda of the State for the next five years. Addressing an election rally which was presided over by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
, he said that Tamil Nadu was one of the most progressive States in the country. It had achieved an important place in industrial, textile, automobile sectors and information technology; A number of social welfare schemes were being implemented. It was leading in health care and higher education in the country.
Some of the actions taken by Returning officers in the State
, which has had on average a 10% vote share in recent elections in Tamil Nadu.
Poll notification was issued on March 19. The last date of filing nominations was March 26 and candidates were allowed to withdraw their nominations until March 30. The state election commission scrutinized the nominations on March 28. Election was held in a single phase on 13 April 2011. 77.8% of the electorate voted in the election, the highest ever in the history of all elections conducted in Tamil Nadu surpassing 76.57% polled in 1967 election. Karur district
registered highest turnout of 86% followed by Ariyalur district
of 84.1%. Chennai district
and Kanyakumari district
polled the lowest number of votes, 68.02% and 68% respectively.
, which once used to be a DMK bastion, AIADMK+ won 14 out of 16 constituencies with a margin of 13.1% over DMK+. AIADMK's best district was the newly created Tiruppur, where they beat the DMK and its allies by a margin of 29.4%. This is consistent with the continued support for AIADMK in this region, since the former Coimbatore district
was AIADMK's best performance in 2006 election. AIADMK+, did extremely well in the western region including Kongu
region, retaining its bastion. DMK relied on its ally, Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam, who had a disappointing performance in this region losing by margins greater than 20% to AIADMK+. DMK leaders after the election blamed the alienation of Dalits and other castes by KNMK due to the fact it is viewed as a party of Gounders
. DMK+, on the hand, only did better than its opponent in four districts: Nilgiris, Kanniyakumari, Thiruvarur and Perambalur. The only region, DMK+ was able to be competitive is in the Cauvery delta region, which has long been a DMK stronghold. DMK's best district was Nilgiris, which includes A. Raja's
former MP constituency
. DMK+ did poorly in the Madurai district
, where they found a lot of success in recent years (2006 bye-election & 2009 LS election
), due to Azhagiri's vigorous campaigning. They were not able to win a single seat in this district, and lost by a margin of 20.9% to AIADMK-CPI(M)-DMDK combine.
Post-poll data released by CNN-IBN, showed that DMK+ did the worst amongst the poor, especially in rural areas. Major issue cited by them as a reason for voting against the DMK is supply of electricity. Before the election, DMK was hoping that freebies and welfare schemes implemented by their administration would help them gain support from rural voters, who were an important electorate for the DMK to grab power in the previous election. This failed to take place, since many rural voters were unhappy with the distribution of these freebies in a disproportionate manner and lack of policies targeting towards income generation schemes in rural areas. This coupled with the recent food price rises resulted in a decline in rural support for the DMK. While spiraling prices, power cut, and DMK's family politics were important factors, many analysts agree that it was the corruption charges (2G spectrum scandal), that eventually led them to their ultimate defeat. This election saw one of the worst performance of Congress in Tamil Nadu, bagging only 5 seats out of 63 seats it contested. During the campaign, they were marred with in-fighting between state Congress leader K.V. Thangkabalu
and other Congress members, which added to their declining support in the state. In both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Congress did poorly reflecting widespread anger and disapproval.
M. Karunanidhi
, after suffering a huge loss, submitted his resignation to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala
, paving way for Jayalalithaa to swear-in on May 16. After the election, Jayalalithaa thanked her supporters and said "this is not a victory for me, but a victory for the state and the country". She further stated that she wants to "rebuild the state, from the havoc created by the previous government" and insisted that she does not plan to share power with her allies. DMDK leader, Vijaykanth, after being the second largest party in the new assembly and an important ally of AIADMK, stated that this is a "victory for the people and an end to family rule". TDP leader and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, called and congratulated Jayalalithaa on her "victory over corruption". After the loss, Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan
, conceded defeat and wished the best for incoming CM, Jayalalithaa. While she admitted that 2G spectrum scam played a huge role in their defeat, she further re-iterated that they have done everything they can to be transparent and that action has been taken against individuals responsible for the corruption. Union Minister, P. Chidambaram
admitted that this was a huge loss for Congress in Tamil Nadu but does not believe this will affect the UPA government at the center, because this was a loss of an alliance led by DMK and not INC. M. Karunanidhi
after the loss stated, "People have given me proper rest" and went on to congratulate the people of the state (on the election outcome).
for the third time on 16 May 2011. She submitted her unanimous election as the leader of ADMK legislature party to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala
on 15 March 2011. She was sworn-in along with 33 other ministers at the Madras University centenary auditorium on 16 March 2011 by the Governor, the same venue she took oath in 1991 when she first became chief minister. She and all other ministers took oath in Tamil. The ceremony was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
, former Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu
and Communist Party of India
(CPI) General Secretary A. B. Bardhan among others.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Results were released on 13 May 2011. Two major parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
(DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
(AIADMK) faced the election as coalitions of multiple political parties: DMK front consisted of 8 parties and the AIADMK of 11 parties. Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam is a regional political party formed by Tamil film actor Vijayakanth in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu along the lines of the regional Dravidian political parties. He formally announced party formation on September 14, 2005 at Madurai...
(DMDK), which had contested the previous elections independently, allied with AIADMK coalition. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu formed in 1994 by Mr. V. Gopalswamy , a member of Rajyasabha and a party activitist of DMK. Mr. V. Gopalsamy grew in the party from his student days. He actively participated in the party agitations and...
boycotted the election following disagreement with Jayalalitha over seat-sharing. Tamil film actor Vijay was openly involved in Tamil Nadu politics for the first time by extending his support for ADMK.
The outgoing Karunanidhi government was noted for the construction of new assembly building
Tamil Nadu legislative assembly-secretariat complex
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and Secretariat Complex also known as the Omandurar Government Estate is a complex of buildings constructed at Government estate grounds off Anna Salai in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The complex is named after O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, execution of various developmental projects and implementation of new entitlement programs including free health care for the poor and issuance of a range of freebies such as color television to all. However, these numerous achievements were overshadowed by other major issues such as increasing prices of essential items, 2G spectrum scam
2G spectrum scam
The 2G spectrum scandal involved officials in the government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones...
and undue influence of Karunanidhi's extended family in various aspects of Tamil politics and business.
The election commission enforced stringent measures to curb the widespread abuse of power to bribe voters that was common in previous elections; it also imposed strict campaign descipline by imposing the 10 PM curfew. The commission headed by the chief election officer Praveen Kumar
Praveen Kumar (Chief Electoral Officer)
-Early life and education:Praveen Kumar is from Hazaribag in Jharkhand. He received undergraduate and postgraduate degress in Metallurgy from IIT Kanpur. He also received M. Phil degree in Social Science from Punjab University. He is from the 1987 batch of Indian Administrative Officer. He is...
was commended for conducting the election in a strict and fair manner. The election recorded the highest polling ever in the state - 77.8% of the total electorate voted in the election surpassing 76.57% polled in 1967 election.
AIADMK front won the election winning in 203 constituencies; the AIADMK party alone secured a simple majority by carrying 150 seats and became eligible to form the government without requiring the support of its coalition partners. DMDK won 29 seats, more than the 23 seats won by DMK and opted to serve as the official opposition party. Political analysts concluded that the election was a referendum on the outgoing DMK government and the powerful anti-incumbency sentiment helped the ADMK colaition. J. Jayalalitha along with 33 ministers was sworn-in as the Chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time on 16 May 2011 by governor Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala is an Indian politician from Punjab. During his career in Indian politics, he has been Governor of four states, Chief Minister of Punjab, a minister in the union cabinet twice and a vice-presidential candidate once.-Early life:Barnala was born in Ateli village, which was then...
.
Background
The Karunanidhi administration was noted for various developmental projects and generous spending of the tax money for the implementation of various free schemes and issuance of freebies: The government provided 1 kg rice for 1 rupee, free health insurance for poor, free color television and gas stove for all. It also provided job for over 500,000 people in various departments of the government and introduced free concrete house scheme for the poor. It also implemented various road, bridge and drinking water projects in ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and all over Tamil Nadu. However, the election was dominated by three major issues, increase in price of essential commodities, 2G Spectrum scandal
2G spectrum scam
The 2G spectrum scandal involved officials in the government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones...
and nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
. Inflation was high during late 2010 to early 2011; The price of food and other essential commodities had increased exponentially affecting middle class and poor people: Onions were sold for Rs. 100, tomatoes for Rs. 80 and Jasmine flower for Rs. 1200 per kilo gram. This historical rise in price of essential food items was believed to be due to increased rainfall in North Indian states. The 2G spectrum scam involved the issue of 122 licenses of the 2G spectrum to 85 companies including many new telecom companies with little or no experience in the telecom sector at a price set in the year 2001. The scam was believed to have costed 67,719 crore (US$15.03 billion) to the Indian exchequer. A. Raja, Union telecommunications minister from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
(CBI) in relation to the case. Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha member from DMK and Chief minister's daughter and Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV
Kalaignar TV
Kalaignar TV is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India.-History:After disputes between Kalanithi Maran and M. K. Azhagiri, Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi launched this channel on September 15 2007...
were also included in the chargesheet filed by CBI. The five years of karunanidhi's rule also saw an undue influence of his extended family members in various aspects of Tamil business and politics, which Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
(CPI (M)) general secretary Prakash Karat
Prakash Karat
Prakash Karat , born on February 7, 1948 in Letpadan, Burma is a communist politician in India and the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of India since 2005.-Education and early career:...
characterised as,
Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam coalition
Electoral alliances began to take shape in late 2010. J. Jayalalitha, the leader of All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) characterised the election as a turning point in Tamil Nadu history similar to 1967 election. She was alluding to the major political changes that took place in Tamil Nadu after 1967 election in which Dravida Munnetra KazhagamDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
defeated Indian National Congress for the first time and subsequently, Congress never won an election in the state.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, political wing of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) constituted a five-member committee to hold consultations with Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) for seat sharing. The party had decided to support ADMK in a resolution adopted at a high level meeting citing deteriorating law and order and corruption. Naan Tamizhar party president Seeman
Seeman (director)
Seeman is a film director and actor in the Tamil film industry, as well as being a Tamil activist. He is the founder and chairman of the organisation " Naam Thamizhar Iyakkam " which turned a political party in 2010.- Career :...
also expressed his support for ADMK on 10 January and said his decision is based on his opposition to INC which he claimed works against the interests of Sri Lankan Tamils. Cho Ramaswamy, founder of Thuglak
Thuglak
-History:Cho Ramaswamy founded the magazine and commenced its first publication on the first day of the Tamil harvesting month "Thai" based on the Tamil calendar system; which was January 14, 1970 in the Gregorian calendar. He has been the editor of the magazine ever since and has penned several...
magazine, was actively involved in the formation of alliances. He supported ADMK and encouraged other parties to do so as well. On the 41st anniversary of the founding of Thuglak on 14 January, he delivered an address that strongly opposed ruling DMK party. He encouraged Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam is a regional political party formed by Tamil film actor Vijayakanth in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu along the lines of the regional Dravidian political parties. He formally announced party formation on September 14, 2005 at Madurai...
(DMDK) to forge an alliance with AIADMK. Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
Tamil Nadu state secretary D. Pandian
D. Pandian
D. Pandian is an Indian politician and former Member of Parliament elected from Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as an Indian National CongressAlliance united communist party candidate from North Chennai constituency in 1989 and 1991 elections....
also called for DMDK to join the ADMK coalition to defeat DMK and officially announced the continuation of CPI's coalition with ADMK on January 29. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
(CPM) announced its decision to contest the election with ADMK on 25 January.
Despite the strained relationship between Indian National Congress (INC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), ADMK leader Jayalalitha ruled out coalition with INC on 19 January. Tamil actor Karthik
Karthik Muthuraman
Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman , better known by his screen name Karthik , is a Tamil film actor and politician. He is the son of veteran actor R. Muthuraman. He was first introduced by Bharathiraja in the film Alaigal Oivathillai...
announced his party's (Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi) support to ADMK after meeting Jayalalitha on 19 January. Hindu Munnani
Hindu Munnani
Hindu Munnani is a religious and cultural organization based in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu which was formed to defend the Hinduism and protect Hindu religious monuments.-History:...
leader Rama Gopalan ruled out support to ADMK coalition on 20 January citing the participation of anti-Hindu forces in the fold.
DMDK officially announced their alliance with AIADMK and started their negotiations. This brought to an end the possibilities of 3rd Front and DMDK contesting the elections on their own.
Vijay's Makkal Iyakkam supported AADMK Front. He delivered a speech in a rally attended by an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period...
on February 22 condemning the actions of Sri Lankan military against Tamil Nadu fishermen.S. A. Chandrasekhar
S. A. Chandrasekhar
S.A. Chandrasekhar is an Indian film director, producer and writer. He is the father of Kollywood actor Vijay.-Personal life:He is married to Shoba, who is a singer.His son Joseph Vijay is one of the leading kollywood actors and his daughter Vidhya passed away at the age of two.Jaya is his...
, noted film director and father of actor Vijay met with Jayalalitha three times during the run-up to the election and announced Makkal Iyakkam's decision to support the ADMK front in Trichy on March 27.
Seat allotment controversy
In the middle of March, amidst discussion to finalise the allocation of constituencies, ADMK surprised its allies by unilaterally deciding the 160 constituencies in which it will field candidates. The list included constituencies won by the CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc and Pudhiya Thamizhagam in the previous election. MDMK was not allotted any constituency. After the coalition partners threatened to form a third front under DMDK, ADMK gave in to their demands. Most of the seats ADMK took form its alliance partners were given back bringing the standoff to an end. However MDMK was not given the number of seats it asked for and hence Vaiko left ADMK led alliance and boycotted the elections.Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam coalition
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. V. Thankabalu confirmed the continuation of his party's alliance with DMK on 21 January. DMK pulled out of the ruling coalition at the centre on 5 March amid disagreements with Congress over seat sharing. After three days, the parties struck a deal in which DMK gave in to the demand and allowed Congress to contest in 63 seats. Abdul Rahman, Member of Parliament from Vellore constituencyVellore (Lok Sabha constituency)
-Assembly segments:Vellore changed 1.1.09 Lok Sabha constituency was composed of the following assembly segments :#Katpadi#Gudiyatham#Pernambut #Anaicut#Vellore#ArniAfter delimitation, it is currently composed of#Vellore#Anaicut...
announced the continuation of Indian Union Muslim League
Indian Union Muslim League
Indian Union Muslim League is a state political party in the state of Kerala, India. The chief support base of the party falls inside northern and central Kerala...
's coalition with DMK on 24 January 2011. After meeting Karunanidhi at his home on 16 January, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said his party will work for the victory of DMK coalition. In a speech given during the wedding of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Periyakaruppan
K. R. Periyakaruppan
K. R. Periyakaruppan is the former minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments in Tamil Nadu state of India. He was born in Aralikkottai on 30-December-1959. He has finished Bachelors degree in Commerce and Law. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Tirupattur...
's son in Chennai, Karunanidhi expressed his desire to step down from Chiefministership and continue as the leader of the party. Karunanidhi, during his trip to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
for attending Chief Ministers meeting on 30 January, said that Indian National Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal, Muslim League and Pattali Makkal Katchi
Pattali Makkal Katchi
Paattali Makkal Katchi is a Tamil political party.-History:PMK was founded by Dr. S. Ramdoss and the state president is G. K. Mani. Ramdoss had earlier worked with the Vanniyar Sangham founded by him in 1980. PMK is based amongst the Most Backward Class Vanniyakula Kshatriyas community...
are in the DMK coalition. But Ramadoss, the leader of PMK denied that and said no final decision has been taken on coalition. However PMK later joined the DMK alliance and was allotted 31 seats. It was later reduced to 30 to accommodate Congress which was firm on contesting 63 seats. Mylapore
Mylapore
Mylapore is a cultural hub and neighborhood in the southern part of the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. Earlier, Mylapore used to be called Vedapuri....
MLA
Mylapore (State Assembly Constituency)
Mylapore is a legislative assembly constituency in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Mylapore assembly constituency was part of Chennai South .- Madras State :- Tamil Nadu :- References :...
and actor-turned politician S. V. Shekhar, joined Congress on February 6, 2011 after being expelled from AIADMK in 2009. Although Mylapore constituency was allotted to congress party, it did not give the chance to S.V. Shekhar. Instead the party allotted it to Jayanthi Thangabalu, the wife of TN Congress president K.V. Thangabalu. However her nomination was rejected by election commission citing incomplete submission of relevant documents. The nomination of K.V. Thangabalu, who was the replacement candidate was accepted making him the official congress candidate.
Seat allotment controversy
Upset over the tough posture adopted by the Congress during the seat-sharing negotiations, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on March 5 decided to pull out its Ministers from the Union government and provide only issue-based support. A resolution to this effect was adopted at a meeting of the high-level committee of the party at Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters.But after days of intense bargaining, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress on March 9 struck a deal, under which the Congress would contest 63 seats.
Other parties and associations
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra KazhagamMarumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu formed in 1994 by Mr. V. Gopalswamy , a member of Rajyasabha and a party activitist of DMK. Mr. V. Gopalsamy grew in the party from his student days. He actively participated in the party agitations and...
(MDMK) boycotted the election following its withdrawal from the ADMK alliance as ADMK did not award the party any coalition constituency. Makkal Sakthi Katchi (Lok Satta Party), the party founded by Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta)
Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP, is a noted Indian politician, social reformer, TV commentator and columnist. He is the President of Lok Satta Party and currently a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kukatpally constituency in Andhra Pradesh.http://www.loksatta.org/cms/index.php?...
contested in 35 constituencies in 18 districts. Some of the candidates of the party were members/coordinators from the Non-Government Organisation 5th Pillar who were famous for issuing zero rupees notes to fight corruption. The party was headed in Tamil Nadu by a steering committee composed of six people including Vijay Anand of 5th Pillar.
Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) although a major force in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
had struggled to make a foothold in Tamil Nadu . BJP leader L.Ganesan
La Ganesan
La Ganesan is an Indian politician and senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. He is president of the party at state level. He hails from Tamilnadu....
declared on 13 January that BJP will go alone in the elections . BJP announced its Candidate list on March 18. Subramanian swamy leader of Janata Party announced JP will face the elections in alliance with BJP and will contest in 10 seats. JD(U) has announced it will contest 8 seats in alliance with BJP.
Tamil film actor Karthik
Karthik Muthuraman
Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman , better known by his screen name Karthik , is a Tamil film actor and politician. He is the son of veteran actor R. Muthuraman. He was first introduced by Bharathiraja in the film Alaigal Oivathillai...
's Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi
Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi
Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi is a Tamil political party in India, based amongst the Thevar caste. The party founder and president is actor Karthik. Karthik was the president of All India Forward Bloc and later left the party to start his own....
entered the election as a member of ADMK coalition. When no seat was allocated to his party by ADMK, he decided to contest the election alone in 25 to 40 seats. His party with sizeable Thevar
Mukkulathor
The Mukkulathor community is native to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. The name "Mukkulathor" alludes to the three roughly designated groups and which make up this large endogamous social group...
votes in southern Tamil Nadu is believed to eat into the AIADMK votebank. In 2006, former AIADMK minister Nainar Nagendran lost by 2,000 votes in Tirunelveli, where Karthik's party polled more than the margin. Two weeks later his split from ADMK, he announced his party will contest independently in 19 constituencies and support DMK in 213 constituencies.
Educationist-turned-politician T. R. Pachamuthu
T. R. Pachamuthu
Thandavarayapuram Ramaswami Pachamuthu is an Indian academic best known as the founder and chancellor of SRM University. He comes from the Tamil Nadu community of Parkavakulam...
's Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) leads the third front. It comprises Tamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam
Tamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam
Tamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. TMK was floated by All India Devendra Kula Velalar Sangam in 2000.-Organization:...
of John Pandian, Samooka Samathuva Padai of retired IAS officer, P Sivakami, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Peravai and VOC Peravai. The front is fielding candidates in more than 150 constituencies .
Political observers feel that the IJK could poll 3,000 to 5,000 votes in many constituencies in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Salem districts where Pachamuthu's Udayar
Parkavakulam
-Parkavakulam:Parkavakulam ,பார்க்கவகுலம் a Tamil-speaking community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The main sub-divisions of the community are Nathaman, Nainar, Malaiyaman, Suruthiman, Moopanar...
community has sizeable presence. The Samooka Samathuva Padai will mobilize significant dalit votes in constituencies like Tindivanam, Krishnarayapuram, Haroor and Gangavalli. Sivakami herself is contesting from Gangavalli . John Pandian has some influence in Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Dindigul and Tirunelveli districts.
Bahujan Samaj Party which is ruling in Uttar Pradesh has decided to field candidates for all 234 seats and will be contesting alone . The party announced its candidate list on March 18. Puratchi Bharatham led by MLA JeganMurthy which was part of DMK alliance from 2004 left the alliance due to seat sharing issue.It will contest 40 seats on its own. Social Democratic Party of India has also plunged into the Tamil Nadu election fray with a view to garnering Muslim votes. They are concentrating on Coimbatore, Ramanathapuram and some parts of Chennai. Ahila Indiya Parampariya Meenavar Sangam decided to contest in 27 constituencies that constitute a major population of fishermen. The decision was made in a meeting of fishermen's unions from across Tamil Nadu held in Pattinapakkam headed by its general secreatary Rubeshkumar. Arundhathiar (a section of dalits) outfit headed by R Adhiyaman has fielded candidates in 20 segments in western Tamil Nadu .
AIADMK front
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its... |
 |
J.Jayalalithaa | 160 | |
| 2. | Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam is a regional political party formed by Tamil film actor Vijayakanth in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu along the lines of the regional Dravidian political parties. He formally announced party formation on September 14, 2005 at Madurai... |
Vijayakanth | 41 | ||
| 3. | Communist Party of India Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925... |
 |
Tha. Pandian | 10 | |
| 4. | Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of... |
 |
G.Ramakrishnan | 12 | |
| 5. | Manithaneya Makkal Katchi Manithaneya Makkal Katchi Manithaneya Makkal Katchi is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by Kunangudi Haniffa and focussed on the Muslim community. -2011 Assembly elections:... |
M. H. Jawahirullah | 3 | ||
| 6. | Puthiya Tamilakam | Dr. Krishnaswamy | 2 | ||
| 7. | All India Forward Bloc All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc is a leftwing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India... |
 |
Kathiravan | 1 | |
| Unregistered parties, whose candidates ran under the AIADMK ticket | |||||
| 8. | All India Samathuva Makhal Katchi All India Samathuva Makhal Katchi Samathuva makkal katchi is a Tamil political party in India, based amongst the Nadar caste. The party founder and president is Actor Sarath Kumar. Actor Sarath Kumar was part of DMK in his early political career and then joined AIADMK . Later he quit AIADMK to start his own party... |
|
R. Sarathkumar | 2 | |
| 9. | Republican Party of India Republican Party of India The Republican Party of India is a political party in India. It has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by Dr. Ambedkar. The main base of RPI has traditionally been in Maharashtra.... |
|
C.K. Tamilarasan | 1 | |
| 10. | All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam is a Tamil political party in India, based amongst the thevar caste. The party founder and president is Dr. N. Sethuraman. The party was founded by All India Thevar Peravai in 1998.-Performance:... |
|
N. Sethuraman | 1 | |
| 11. | Tamil Nadu Kongu Ilaignar Peravai Tamil Nadu Kongu Ilaignar Peravai Tamil Nadu Kongu Ilaignar Peravai of late senior Kongu leader and famous politician Kovai Chezhian. The association is led by U. Thaniyarasu M.L.A... |
|
U. Thaniyarasu | 1 | |
DMK front
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar... |
 |
Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi | 119 | |
| 2. | Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian... |
 |
K.V. Thangabalu | 63 | |
| 3. | Pattali Makkal Katchi Pattali Makkal Katchi Paattali Makkal Katchi is a Tamil political party.-History:PMK was founded by Dr. S. Ramdoss and the state president is G. K. Mani. Ramdoss had earlier worked with the Vanniyar Sangham founded by him in 1980. PMK is based amongst the Most Backward Class Vanniyakula Kshatriyas community... |
 |
Dr. Ramdoss | 30 | |
| 4. | Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi | Thol. Thirumavalavan | 10 | ||
| 5. | Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam | 'Best' S.Ramasamy 'Best' S.Ramasamy S. "Best" Ramasamy is a Politician and Entrepreneur from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is the President of the Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam party... |
7 | ||
| Unregistered parties, whose candidates ran under the DMK ticket | |||||
| 6. | Indian Union Muslim League Indian Union Muslim League Indian Union Muslim League is a state political party in the state of Kerala, India. The chief support base of the party falls inside northern and central Kerala... |
|
K.M. Khader Mohideen | 3 | |
| 7. | Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam is a Tamil political party in India, based amongst the Thevar caste. The party was founded by G.M. Premkumar Vandaiyar and the present president is G.M. Sreedhar Vandaiyar.-Performance:... |
|
G.M. Sreedhar Vandaiyar | 1 | |
| 8. | Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.- History :The party is floated as forum by the nadar community who have nativity in southern tamil nadu... |
|
N.R. Dhanabalan | 1 | |
AIADMK front
DMDKDesiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam is a regional political party formed by Tamil film actor Vijayakanth in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu along the lines of the regional Dravidian political parties. He formally announced party formation on September 14, 2005 at Madurai...
launched a vigorous campaign to defeat DMK
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
; It made a resolution to call all parties to come together to defeat the ruling DMK in a conference held in Salem on 8 January presided over by its leader Vijayakanth.
AIADMK chief Jayalalitha campaigned supporting the candidates of her alliance across the entire state from March 24 till on April 11. She promised to provide the people of Tamil Nadu with golden reign, if they voted out the ruling party. Tamil film director R. V. Udayakumar, actors senthil
Senthil (actor)
Senthil is an actor from Tamil Nadu, India notable for his comedian roles in Tamil films.-Acting career:He has acted in many popular movies with several of the leading actors and comedians in the south Indian cine industry. He usually appears in films with Goundamani in a slapstick double act....
, Gundu Kalyanam, Ponnambalam, C. R. Saraswathi, Radha Ravi
Radha Ravi
Radha Ravi is a Tamil film and television actor, who played supporting roles throughout his career. He is the son of yesteryear actor, M. R. Radha and the uncle of Vasu Vikram and halfbrother of Raadhika Sarathkumar. He is a chief member of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association...
and Anandaraj
Anandaraj
Anandaraj is an Indian Tamil film actor, who mainly plays the villain role in movies. He was one of the best villains that tamil cinema has ever produced. He has acted alongside most of the top actors, like Rajni and Vijay...
campaigned for AIADMK front. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat
Prakash Karat
Prakash Karat , born on February 7, 1948 in Letpadan, Burma is a communist politician in India and the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of India since 2005.-Education and early career:...
characterized the DMK's rule as a dark chapter in the history of Tamil Nadu and the 2G spectrum scam had shamed its people. Communist Party of India general secretary A. B. Bardhan exhorted Jayalalithaa to lead the battle to unseat the corrupt regime at the Centre after its victory in Tamil Nadu.
DMK front
S. RamadossS. Ramadoss
Dr. S. Ramadoss is the founder and president of the Pattali Makkal Katchi Indian political party. Dr Ramadass had earlier worked intensively with the Vanniyar Sangham ....
, leader of Pattali Makkal Katchi
Pattali Makkal Katchi
Paattali Makkal Katchi is a Tamil political party.-History:PMK was founded by Dr. S. Ramdoss and the state president is G. K. Mani. Ramdoss had earlier worked with the Vanniyar Sangham founded by him in 1980. PMK is based amongst the Most Backward Class Vanniyakula Kshatriyas community...
expressed his dissatisfaction with people from film industry ruling Tamil Nadu since 1967. He also urged voters not to vote for Vijayakanth with long career as a Tamil actor. Expressing dissatisfaction that he could not be elected to Chief Ministership, Ramadoss complained — in a meeting held in Mayilam — that Vanniars with a total population of 2.5 crores in Tamil Nadu never elected one of their own for Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK), a political party in the western districts of Tamilnadu, complained about the neglect of Kongu region by the successive governments in a conference held at Karur
Karur
Karur is a large town and a municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated on the banks of Amaravati. Karur district was formed on 30 September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur District. Karur has a very long...
. Er. Eswaran, general secretary of KMK, urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development in the Kongu region. Comedy actor Vadivelu
Vadivelu
Vadivelu , often referred to as Vadivel, is a Tamil film actor,comedian and playback singer. Since 2000, he has acted as a comedian in various Tamil films. During his career, Vadivelu has won several Filmfare Awards and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards...
campaigned for the DMK Front. Telugu actor and politician Chiranjeevi who had recently merged his party Praja Rajyam with Congress in Andhra Pradesh also campaigned for the DMK front. Actor turned Union Minister Napoleon, director K. Bhagyaraj, and actors Kushboo
Kushboo Sundar
Nakhat Khan , better known by her stage name Kushboo is an Indian actress, television hostess and producer.-Early life:...
and Vaagai Chadrasekar campaigned for DMK . Congress President Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
shared the stage with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in an election rally highlighting the strides made by the state under the latter’s leadership. Addressing a rally near Marina beach
Marina Beach
Marina Beach is a beach in the city of Chennai , India, along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The beach runs from near Fort St. George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south, a distance of , making it the longest urban beach in the country and the world's second longest...
in Chennai, Gandhi said Tamil Nadu had become a front-ranking state whose ideas of development and welfare were copied by the rest. All India Congress Committee
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee is the Presidium or central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress Party. It is composed of members elected from State-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousand members...
general secretary Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi is an Indian politician and member of the parliament of India, representing the Amethi constituency. His political party is the Indian National Congress.-Early life and career:...
appealed to the people of Tamil Nadu to support the Democratic Progressive Alliance to further the development and socialistic agenda of the State for the next five years. Addressing an election rally which was presided over by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...
, he said that Tamil Nadu was one of the most progressive States in the country. It had achieved an important place in industrial, textile, automobile sectors and information technology; A number of social welfare schemes were being implemented. It was leading in health care and higher education in the country.
Election manifesto
The Election Manifesto in Tamil Nadu in recent years have been filled with handout of free stuff, if the party wins in order to woo voters. Freebies and rural schemes helped the current DMK government win in the 2006 election.DMK
DMK president and CM Karunanidhi released election manifesto for the assembly polls and has assured the following if his party wins:- Free laptops for all college students and free mixerBlenderA blender is a kitchen appliance for chopping or liquefying food.Blender may also refer to:Media:* Blender , a music-themed magazine* Blender , a free and open-source software program for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering...
or grinderWet grinderA wet grinder is a grinder used with water. Wet grinders have a wide application in industry, workshops, and commercial and domestic kitchens throughout Africa and Asia...
for women. - Rural schemes and Metro Rail for CoimbatoreCoimbatoreCoimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
and MaduraiMaduraiMadurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
.
AIADMK
AIADMK manifesto promised:- 20 kg of free rice for ration-card holders.
- Laptops for students from classes XIEleventh gradeEleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
. - Free fans, mixers and grinders.
- Free mineral water to BPL families.
- MonorailMonorailA monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
for ChennaiChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. - Promised new power generation projects and IT Industries in Coimbatore West and development of Small Scale Industries in Madurai South.
Election Commission actions
The election commission was commended for conducting the election in a strict and fair manner. It enforced stringent measures to curb use of money power to bribe voters by paying them cash. It also strictly enforced 10 PM curfew on campaigning. DMK chief M Karunanidhi and his ally PMK founder S Ramadoss accused the EC of bringing about an emergency like situation in the State while such a situation was not prevalent in the other poll-bound States. CEC has said the people were happy about the conduct of elections, the CEC displayed an SMS from Chennai which read “earlier EC just announced elections. Only now they are conducting them. This is just one sample of people’s response”.Some of the actions taken by Returning officers in the State
- The EC appointed flying squads and I-T teams recently seized more than Rs 5 crore, largest ever in the state, from the roof of an empty bus in Trichy.
- The Election Commission is probing alleged purchase of nine lakh T-shirts costing more than Rs11 crore by ruling DMK from a single shop in Tirupur district of poll bound Tamil Nadu.
- Election Officials have seized unauthorised cash of over Rs 53 crore in cash out of which Rs 42 crore are from Tamil Nadu alone
- The biggest seizure of cash has come from Madurai district at Rs.3.91 crore. Madurai district collector U. Sahayam has said only Rs.3.71 lakh of the cash seized in the district has been reclaimed with documented proof. The EC had earlier transferred the collector and appointed Sahayam as the collector .EC also transferred the superintendent of police in Madurai district, key officials in the administration; it is also supervising the use of wedding halls to ensure that the premises are not misused.
Cases registered
- Tiruvarur town police have registered a case against film actor VadiveluVadiveluVadivelu , often referred to as Vadivel, is a Tamil film actor,comedian and playback singer. Since 2000, he has acted as a comedian in various Tamil films. During his career, Vadivelu has won several Filmfare Awards and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards...
for his denigrating speech against founder of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) Vijayakant on March 23. - Actress and DMK star speaker Khushboo has been booked under two cases for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct. The first case pertained to the actress allegedly blocking the road and intrerrupting traffic while campaigning for her party at Palanichetti area in the district, police said. The second case was booked when a combined eight cars were found to be following the vehicle of the actress without prior permission at two places in the district, police said.All the eight vehicles had been seized, they said.
- Melur Assistant Returning Officer, P.Kalimuthu had stated that DMK workers, accompanied by Mr. Alagiri, had been to the temple, where a large number of local elders were present. The flying squad had received information that the political party functionaries might distribute cash. They rushed to the spot and videographed the visit. This resulted in a scuffle. In the melee, the videographer [appointed by ECI] was roughed up.On the basis of Mr. Kalimuthu's complaint with Keelavalavu police, a case was registered against Mr. Alagiri, Deputy Mayor P.M. Mannan, two local DMK functionaries Regupathi and Thirugnanam and 50 others for waylaying and obstructing officials from discharging their duty.
- DMK Member of Parliament J.K. Ritheesh and seven others were arrested for allegedly assaulting a man and others when a clash broke out on Monday night between his supporters and a group over an issue of relaying a road near Ramanathapuram .
- Election Commission of India has sent notices, based on the complaint of the DMK to AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa and her ally DMDK leader actor Vijayakanth for their alleged personal attacks against chief minister M. Karunanidhi and his family during electioneering.
Pre-poll surveys
Most non-partisan pre-polls found AIADMK+ winning comfortably in this election. The pre-polls indicated a great deal of anger towards the incumbent government, due to corruption allegations and recent food price rises. Also AIADMK was aided by including DMDK and its leader VijaykanthVijaykanth
Vijayakanth is an Indian actor and politician. He is the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and a Member of Legislative Assembly representing Rishivandiyam, Tamil Nadu, India.-Early life:...
, which has had on average a 10% vote share in recent elections in Tamil Nadu.
| Agency | Dates | DMK+ | AIADMK+ | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headlines Today Headlines Today Headlines Today is a popular 24-hour English language television network that carries news, current affairs and business programming in India, the channel is sponsored by TV Today Network Ltd. which is a part of the well-known India Today Group... –ORG Poll |
1 April 2011 | 68 seats | 45% | 164 seats | 50% | |
| "People studies" - Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College is a Jesuit institution in Chennai, India. The college admits undergraduates and post-graduates and offers degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and commerce. It is an autonomous institution affiliated with the University of Madras.-History:... |
21–29 March 2011 | 70 seats | 42% | 105 seats | 49% | |
Post-poll survey
Since exit polls are banned by ECI, Headlines Today-ORG Poll, conducted a post-poll survey, where they polled voters after they voted in their houses. Post polls conducted by Headlines Today-ORG Poll, found this election to be a toss-up, with DMK gaining a lot of ground in the last few weeks before the election. The exit poll particularly noted a late swing towards the incumbent in the rural communities of Tamil Nadu, which allowed the DMK and its alliance to increase its overall vote share percentage from 45% in the pre-poll survey to 50% post-poll. A couple of weeks after the Headlines today post poll, a few post polls showed the exact opposite result, with CNN-IBN and Asianet post poll giving AIADMK+, the majority of the same margin.| Agency | Date reported | DMK+ | AIADMK+ | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headlines Today Headlines Today Headlines Today is a popular 24-hour English language television network that carries news, current affairs and business programming in India, the channel is sponsored by TV Today Network Ltd. which is a part of the well-known India Today Group... –ORG Poll |
28 April 2011 | 115-130 seats | 50% | 105-120 seats | 48% | |
| CNN-IBN-The Week post-poll survey | 10 May 2011 | 102-114 seats | 44% | 120-132 seats | 46% | |
| Asianet Asianet Asianet Communications Limited is an Indian media conglomerate jointly owned by STAR TV and Jupiter Entertainment. Formed in 1991 and headquartered in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in the south Indian state of Kerala, the company owns several television channels including Asianet, the first... -C Fore Poll |
10 May 2011 | 117 seats | – | 132 seats | – | |
| Star News STAR News STAR News is the Hindi language news channel of STAR TV based in Mumbai. The channel is a co-production of STAR Group and ABP Pvt. Ltd... |
10 May 2011 | 124 seats | – | 110 seats | – | |
| CVB News-C | 10 May 2011 | 54-62 seats | – | 176 seats | – | |
Polling
Source: Tamil Nadu Election WebsitePoll notification was issued on March 19. The last date of filing nominations was March 26 and candidates were allowed to withdraw their nominations until March 30. The state election commission scrutinized the nominations on March 28. Election was held in a single phase on 13 April 2011. 77.8% of the electorate voted in the election, the highest ever in the history of all elections conducted in Tamil Nadu surpassing 76.57% polled in 1967 election. Karur district
Karur District
Karur District is located center along the Kaveri & Amaravati rivers in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The main town in Karur District is the city of Karur, which is also the district headquarter. It had a population of 935,686 as of 2001. It is 33.27% urbanized as per Census 2001...
registered highest turnout of 86% followed by Ariyalur district
Ariyalur district
Ariyalur is an administrative district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The district headquarters are located at Ariyalur...
of 84.1%. Chennai district
Chennai district
The Chennai District is a district in the state of Tamil nadu, in India. It is the smallest of all the districts in the state, but has the highest population. The district is a city district which means that it does not have a district headquarters. Most of the city region of Chennai comes under...
and Kanyakumari district
Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District ) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India and is the southernmost land area of mainland India.The district is the second most urbanised district in Tamilnadu, next only to Chennai and ahead of Coimbatore. It also has the highest literacy and education levels in the...
polled the lowest number of votes, 68.02% and 68% respectively.
| Category | Polled | Turnout % |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 18,381,236 | 77.71% |
| Women | 18,371,744 | 78.54% |
| Total | 36,753,114 | 78.12% |
Results by pre-poll alliance
Constituency wise results
The following list provides the details of winners and runner-ups from all 234 constituencies.| * | Elected as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| †: | These candidates formed a seat sharing alliance with AIADMK and contested the constituency under the "two-leaves" symbol. |
| ‡: | These candidates formed a seat sharing alliance with DMK and contested the constituency under the "rising-sun" symbol. |
Analysis and post-election reaction
Pre-polls and post-polls released before the counting showed a mixed picture and a close race and failed to predict the landslide victory for the AIADMK alliance. Including this election, no incumbent party has ever won a re-election in Tamil Nadu since MGR's victory in 1984 election. The results were consistent with the anti-incumbency factor that is common in Tamil Nadu politics. Closer look at the results show that AIADMK swept through the state winning by big margins. AIADMK and its allies won all the seats in 12 out of the 32 districts, with margins greater than 10% over its rival DMK and its allies. Out of those 12 districts, AIADMK+ won by margins greater than 15% in seven of them. In Chennai DistrictChennai district
The Chennai District is a district in the state of Tamil nadu, in India. It is the smallest of all the districts in the state, but has the highest population. The district is a city district which means that it does not have a district headquarters. Most of the city region of Chennai comes under...
, which once used to be a DMK bastion, AIADMK+ won 14 out of 16 constituencies with a margin of 13.1% over DMK+. AIADMK's best district was the newly created Tiruppur, where they beat the DMK and its allies by a margin of 29.4%. This is consistent with the continued support for AIADMK in this region, since the former Coimbatore district
Coimbatore District
Coimbatore District is one of the more affluent and industrially advanced districts of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is known as the Manchester of South India. It one of the most industrialized towns of Tamil Nadu. It has the highest GDP among the districts of Tamil Nadu, even ahead...
was AIADMK's best performance in 2006 election. AIADMK+, did extremely well in the western region including Kongu
Kongu Nadu
Kongu Nadu is a region comprising the western part of the Tamil Nadu India. The region is bounded on the west and north-west by the Karnataka state, on the west by the Kerala state, on the east by Tondai Nadu, on the south-east by Chola Nadu and on the south by Madurai regions of...
region, retaining its bastion. DMK relied on its ally, Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam, who had a disappointing performance in this region losing by margins greater than 20% to AIADMK+. DMK leaders after the election blamed the alienation of Dalits and other castes by KNMK due to the fact it is viewed as a party of Gounders
Kongu Vellalar
Gounders also known as Kongu Vellalars are Kshatriyas native to the western region of Tamil Nadu known as Kongu Nadu. They were known as a noble, feudal and land owning caste of Tamil Nadu from the Sangam age...
. DMK+, on the hand, only did better than its opponent in four districts: Nilgiris, Kanniyakumari, Thiruvarur and Perambalur. The only region, DMK+ was able to be competitive is in the Cauvery delta region, which has long been a DMK stronghold. DMK's best district was Nilgiris, which includes A. Raja's
A. Raja
Andimuthu Raja is an Indian politician from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu....
former MP constituency
Nilgiris (Lok Sabha constituency)
Nilgiris is a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. The seat is reserved for scheduled castes.-Assembly segments:Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :#Mettupalayam#Avanashi...
. DMK+ did poorly in the Madurai district
Madurai District
Madurai district is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. The city of Madurai serves as the district headquarters. It houses the world famous Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple and is situated on the banks of river Vaigai. Thiruparankundram is one of the major...
, where they found a lot of success in recent years (2006 bye-election & 2009 LS election
Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 polls in Tamil Nadu was held for 39 seats in the state. There was a radical change in the alliances in this election compared to the last election, reminiscent of the 1999 election in Tamil Nadu...
), due to Azhagiri's vigorous campaigning. They were not able to win a single seat in this district, and lost by a margin of 20.9% to AIADMK-CPI(M)-DMDK combine.
Post-poll data released by CNN-IBN, showed that DMK+ did the worst amongst the poor, especially in rural areas. Major issue cited by them as a reason for voting against the DMK is supply of electricity. Before the election, DMK was hoping that freebies and welfare schemes implemented by their administration would help them gain support from rural voters, who were an important electorate for the DMK to grab power in the previous election. This failed to take place, since many rural voters were unhappy with the distribution of these freebies in a disproportionate manner and lack of policies targeting towards income generation schemes in rural areas. This coupled with the recent food price rises resulted in a decline in rural support for the DMK. While spiraling prices, power cut, and DMK's family politics were important factors, many analysts agree that it was the corruption charges (2G spectrum scandal), that eventually led them to their ultimate defeat. This election saw one of the worst performance of Congress in Tamil Nadu, bagging only 5 seats out of 63 seats it contested. During the campaign, they were marred with in-fighting between state Congress leader K.V. Thangkabalu
K.V. Thangkabalu
K. V. Thangkabalu is a former member of the 10th Lok Sabha, 14th Lok Sabha of India. He was representing the Salem constituency of Tamil Nadu and is a member of the Indian National Congress political party. He is also the leader of the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee.-Career:K. V...
and other Congress members, which added to their declining support in the state. In both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Congress did poorly reflecting widespread anger and disapproval.
M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
, after suffering a huge loss, submitted his resignation to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala is an Indian politician from Punjab. During his career in Indian politics, he has been Governor of four states, Chief Minister of Punjab, a minister in the union cabinet twice and a vice-presidential candidate once.-Early life:Barnala was born in Ateli village, which was then...
, paving way for Jayalalithaa to swear-in on May 16. After the election, Jayalalithaa thanked her supporters and said "this is not a victory for me, but a victory for the state and the country". She further stated that she wants to "rebuild the state, from the havoc created by the previous government" and insisted that she does not plan to share power with her allies. DMDK leader, Vijaykanth, after being the second largest party in the new assembly and an important ally of AIADMK, stated that this is a "victory for the people and an end to family rule". TDP leader and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, called and congratulated Jayalalithaa on her "victory over corruption". After the loss, Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan
Jayanthi Natarajan
Jayanthi Natarajan is an Indian lawyer and politician. She is a member of the Indian National Congress and has been thrice elected Member of Parliament representing the state of Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha. Since July 2011, she has been the Minister of Forests and Environment.-Early...
, conceded defeat and wished the best for incoming CM, Jayalalithaa. While she admitted that 2G spectrum scam played a huge role in their defeat, she further re-iterated that they have done everything they can to be transparent and that action has been taken against individuals responsible for the corruption. Union Minister, P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...
admitted that this was a huge loss for Congress in Tamil Nadu but does not believe this will affect the UPA government at the center, because this was a loss of an alliance led by DMK and not INC. M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
after the loss stated, "People have given me proper rest" and went on to congratulate the people of the state (on the election outcome).
Government formation
J. Jayalalitha was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
for the third time on 16 May 2011. She submitted her unanimous election as the leader of ADMK legislature party to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala is an Indian politician from Punjab. During his career in Indian politics, he has been Governor of four states, Chief Minister of Punjab, a minister in the union cabinet twice and a vice-presidential candidate once.-Early life:Barnala was born in Ateli village, which was then...
on 15 March 2011. She was sworn-in along with 33 other ministers at the Madras University centenary auditorium on 16 March 2011 by the Governor, the same venue she took oath in 1991 when she first became chief minister. She and all other ministers took oath in Tamil. The ceremony was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.He was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar; and is a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood, as also an active politician since early in life. He holds a masters degree in political...
, former Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu
N. Chandrababu Naidu
Nara Chandrababu Naidu born 20 April 1950, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh was the President of Telugu Desam Party , a regional party in the southern India state of Andhra Pradesh from 1996 to until he resigned. He served as the Chief Minister of the State for a record holding of nine years...
and Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI) General Secretary A. B. Bardhan among others.