• Source: 1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 10 June 1977. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the election, defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). M. G. Ramachandran (commonly known as M.G.R), the AIADMK founder and a prominent Tamil film actor, was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time. The election was a four-cornered contest among the AIADMK, DMK, the Indian National Congress (INC), and the Janata Party.
In 1972, M.G.R founded the AIADMK after being expelled from the DMK due to differences with DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. On 31 January 1976, Karunanidhi's government was dismissed by the central government under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, citing non-cooperation under MISA. This led to the imposition of President's rule in the state. Karunanidhi had opposed the Emergency and allied with the Janata Party, founded by Jayaprakash Narayan. M.G.R served as Chief Minister until his death in 1987, winning re-election in the 1980 and 1984 elections.
M.G.R's success set a precedent for actors entering politics, inspiring Telugu superstar N.T.R to follow suit in 1982 and win the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, subsequently becoming the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Since then, no other actor has replicated M.G.R's achievements in electoral politics.




Background






= Split in Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

=
The DMK gradually weakened in the years following the previous election due to several splits resulting from the exit of influential leaders, including M.G.R. The party's popularity was further undermined by widespread corruption allegations, which M.G.R highlighted, given his close relationship with the Indian National Congress (INC). Tensions within the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam began to surface before the 1971 election, but were put aside to win the elections in a standing record landslide margin.
K. A. Mathiazhagan was removed from his position as Minister of Finance, as he was seen as a significant threat to Karunanidhi's leadership. In 1972, influential Dalit leader Sathyavani Muthu left the party, citing a lack of concern for Dalit issues, and subsequently formed the Thazhthapattor Munnetra Kazhagam. Treasurer of the party M.G.R was expelled on 10 October 1972 following disciplinary action for his open criticisms of the party leadership regarding alleged corruption and authoritarian behavior. He then joined and lead the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which won the Dindigul by-election in 1973.
In March 1977, V. R. Nedunchezhiyan and several senior leaders also left the DMK to form the Makkal Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.




= Emergency

=
Emergency, which was declared in June 1975 had a mixed reception in Tamil Nadu. Jayaprakash Narayan's opposition movement did not receive much support in Tamil Nadu due to his association with the DMK government, which had its own trouble due to accusations of corruption. K. Kamaraj did not come in support of Jayaprakash Narayan due to his association with DMK despite the fact he disapproved of Indira Gandhi's actions. DMK executive council called the Emergency unnecessary and undemocratic on 27 June and party leaders condemned it in several statewide meetings. Emergency regulations and censorship were not strictly enforced in Tamil Nadu unlike in other states. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India continued to support Indira Gandhi. M. G. Ramachandran even visited Delhi to extend his support to Indira Gandhi. It was under these circumstances Karunanidhi's government was dismissed by the Government of India on 31 January 1976.




= Death of Kamaraj and Rajaji

=
Kamaraj, leader of Indian National Congress (Organisation), who remarked in 1972, "Randu Katchigalum Orey Kuttaiyil Oorina Mattaigal (both parties, the DMK and the AIADMK, are like fronds dipped in the same bog or tarred by the same brush)." died in 1975. Indian National Congress (Indira) faction could not establish a foothold in Tamil Nadu until his death. After his death, Indian National Congress (Organisation) lost its identity as a party, and a large number of its members led by G. K. Moopanar merged with Indira Congress. The remaining chose not to join with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, but rather joined the Janata Party and later remained largely uncommitted. Swatantra Party lost much of its power after the death of C. Rajagopalachari in 1972 and did not contest the election. Most of its members joined the newly formed Janata Party.




= Coalitions

=
This election was a four cornered contest. The AIADMK allied itself with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), while INC(I) and Communist Party of India (CPI) contested as allies. The DMK and Janata Party (JNP) contested the elections alone. The AIADMK did not field any candidate in the Usilampatti Constituency in support of the Forward Bloc leader P.K. Mookiah Thevar. Similarly the AIADMK also supported the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate M. Abdul Latheef in the Vaniyambadi Constituency. In the parliamentary elections that occurred just three months prior to this elections, there had been two major alliances – the AIADMK led AIADMK-INC-CPI coalition and the DMK led DMK-NCO-JNP-CPM coalition. But in the months that followed the parliamentary election, these coalitions fell apart.




Seat allotments






= AIADMK Front

=

Note: Forward Bloc contested in 6 different constituencies, but only the Usilampatti constituency contested by P.K.M. Thevar was supported by AIADMK




= DMK Front

=




= Congress Front

=




= Janata Alliance

=




Voting and results


Polling for the election was held on 10 June 1977. Turnout among the eligible voters was 61.58%.




= Results by Pre-Poll Alliance

=




= By constituency

=

Key:




See also


Elections in Tamil Nadu
Legislature of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu




References






External links


Election Commission of India

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Daftar Ketua Menteri Tamil Nadu
• Pemilihan umum Majelis Legislatif Tamil Nadu 2006
• M. Karunanidhi
• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
• 1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
• Next Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• 1971 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• 1980 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• 1996 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
• Elections in Tamil Nadu