Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Template:Short description Template:Use Indian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Indian political party Template:Dravidian politics-col The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Template:Translation; Template:Small MDMK) is a political party active in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was established by Vaiko in 1994 after he left the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The headquarters of the party is called Thayagam, which is located at Rukmini Lakshmipathi Salai, Egmore, Chennai.

History

Formation

Vaiko was a member of Rajya Sabha and a party activist of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Vaiko was a member of the party from his initial student days and actively participated in the party agitations and courted imprisonment several times. He was elected thrice to the Rajya Sabha. In 1994, he was forced out of the parent body as he was seen as a threat to DMK chief Karunanidhi's son, M.K. Stalin. Vaiko along with some district secretaries announced the decision to start a rival party, which became the MDMK.

Support for Sri Lankan Tamils

Vaiko voiced support for Tamils during the Sri Lankan Civil War, including for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam specifically and their goal of secession from Sri Lanka.

Support for the Mullaperiyar Dam

The Government of Kerala was keen to demolish the Mullaperiyar Dam because of safety concerns. However, the dam's reservoir is a prime source for irrigation for more than 8 districts including Theni. As a result, Vaiko led an agitation against the Kerala government.

Split in MDMK

With the looming possibility of a vote of confidence in Parliament against the UPA, two party MPs, L. Ganesan and Gingee N. Ramachandran, claimed that they enjoyed the support of the majority of party cadre and decided to pledge support to the UPA government. They later withdrew their claim and joined DMK when it was found that they had forged letters of support of party executives.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Boycott of Assembly Election 2011

Due to issues in seat sharing, MDMK quit the ADMK Alliance and boycotted the 2011 Assembly elections of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Sanchi Protest

The MDMK protested the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh in September 2012. Vaiko and his party members traveled to Sanchi. People who traveled through roadways were stopped by the police near Gadchiroli. Some party members tried to reach the spot by rail and air but they were detained by police before reaching Sanchi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

MDMK snap ties with NDA

The MDMK left the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in December 2014, accusing the BJP of acting against Tamil interests. This came after heavy criticism of the party from BJP lawmaker Subramanian Swamy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Party flag and symbol

The election symbol is a match box. The colour of the party flag's top and bottom panel is red and middle panel is black. The party has a weekly journal called Sangoli which carries news and write ups for party workers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2024 Parliament Election, the eci allotted Matchbox with stick symbol for contesting in Trichy.

Election history

Lok Sabha election

Election Year	Election	Votes polled	Won	Change of Seats	Alliance	Result
1996	11th Lok Sabha	552,118	Template:Composition bar	No Change	MDMK-CPI(M)	Lost
1998	12th Lok Sabha	1,602,504	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase3	NDA	Government
1999	13th Lok Sabha	1,620,527	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase1	NDA	Government
2004	14th Lok Sabha	1,679,870	Template:Composition bar	No Change	DPA	Government
2009	15th Lok Sabha	1,112,908	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease3	TF	Opposition
2014	16th Lok Sabha	1,417,535	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease1	NDA	Lost
2019	17th Lok Sabha	563,591	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase1	UPA	Opposition
2024	18th Lok Sabha	5,42,213	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase1	INDIA	Opposition

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

Election Year	Election	Votes polled	Won	Change of Seats	Alliance	Result
1996	11th Assembly	1,569,168	Template:Composition bar	No Change	MDMK+ alliance	Lost
2001	12th Assembly	1,304,469	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease213	MDMK+	Lost
2006	13th Assembly	1,971,565	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 6	AIADMK Front	Won
2016	15th Assembly	2,300,775	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 6	PWF	Lost
2021	16th Assembly	4,86,976	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 4	SPA+	Won

List of Union Ministers

No.	Portrait	Portfolio	Name Template:Small	Term in office			Constituency Template:Small	[[Prime Minister of India|Template:White]]
				Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:No image available.svg	Minister of Non-Conventional Energy Sources [[[:Template:Abbr]]]	M. Kannappan (–)	13 October 1999	30 December 2003	Template:Ayd	Tiruchengode (Lok Sabha)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	rowspan=5 Template:Party color cell
2	File:No image available.svg	Minister of Textiles [[[:Template:Abbr]]]	Gingee N. Ramachandran (born 1944)	13 October 1999	30 September 2000	Template:Ayd	Tindivanam (Lok Sabha)
		Minister of Finance [[[:Template:Abbr]]]		30 September 2000	1 July 2002	Template:Ayd
		Minister of Finance & Company Affairs [[[:Template:Abbr]]]		1 July 2002	24 May 2003	Template:Ayd
		Minister of Textiles [[[:Template:Abbr]]]		8 September 2003	30 December 2003	Template:Ayd

See also

• List of political parties in India

External links

• Official Website of the party
• MDMK profile listed in Library of congress