DMK returns as AIADMK splits in two
What happened
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam returned to power in Tamil Nadu, defeating a divided ruling party.
It won 150 of the 234 seats on offer, a landslide result.
That left it 32 seats clear of a majority.
The DMK took 64.1% of the seats on 33.2% of the vote.
Its nearest rival, the ADK(JL), won 27 seats on 21.2% of the vote.
The campaign
AIADMK founder and chief minister MGR died on 24 December 1987, splitting the party into two rival factions — one backing his widow Janaki Ramachandran, briefly chief minister, the other backing Jayalalithaa.1
Congress leader and actor Sivaji Ganesan quit the party in February 1988 over its plan to ally with Jayalalithaa's faction, founding the Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani; it backed Janaki Ramachandran's faction and lost every seat it fought. The Election Commission froze the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol that December, giving Jayalalithaa's side the 'cock' symbol and Janaki Ramachandran's the 'two doves'.23
Ahead of the poll, Karunanidhi's DMK struck seat-sharing pacts only with the Janata Dal and the CPI(M), contesting most of the state's 234 seats itself under the National Front banner. The Communist Party of India allied with Jayalalithaa's faction, while Congress contested alone after its own plan to ally with that faction fell through.456
Voting was delayed in Marungapuri and Madurai East for technical reasons and held in March, by which point the two AIADMK factions had merged under Jayalalithaa and the Election Commission had restored their shared 'two leaves' symbol for the two seats.78
- 1AIADMK splits after MGR's death, DMK returns in 1989 — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
- 2Sivaji Ganesan Splits From Congress to Form Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani
- 3Election Commission Freezes AIADMK's 'Two Leaves' Symbol — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
- 5CPI Allies With the Jayalalithaa AIADMK Faction — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
- 6Congress's Plan to Ally With Jayalalithaa Faction Collapses — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
- 7Two Constituencies' Polls Postponed to March — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
- 8Rival AIADMK Factions Merge Under Jayalalithaa — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, 1989: The election that ended the succession battle between MGR's heroines
What changed
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's hold on power ended in collapse.
It had won 3 elections in a row before this one.
The single biggest movement ran from ADK to DMK, covering 90 of the 197 seats that changed hands.
DMK itself grew from 24 seats to 150 seats this time.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, changed by -1.9 pp from the previous election.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Kadaladi, Tamil Nadu, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 409 votes.
Harbour, Tamil Nadu saw the widest margin of the night, with the winner ahead by 45.9% of the vote.
Valangiman, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 97.9%.
Villivakkam, Tamil Nadu was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 3,43,571 people on its electoral rolls.
Erode, Tamil Nadu drew the most candidates of the election, 50 in all.
The backdrop
In October 1972, the DMK expelled MGR as party treasurer, and he founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Tamil Nadu's second major Dravidian party.9
DMK and AIADMK have contested every state election since 1977.9
That split resurfaced in December 1987, when AIADMK itself broke into two factions after MGR's death — the rivalry this election was fought under.1
- 1AIADMK splits after MGR's death, DMK returns in 1989 — 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
- 9MGR splits from DMK, founds AIADMK — All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam