Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
AbbreviationMDMK
General SecretaryVaiko
Parliamentary ChairpersonVaiko
Rajya Sabha LeaderVaiko
FounderVaiko
Founded6 May 1994 (1994-05-06)
Split fromDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
HeadquartersThayagam, 12, Rukmini Lakshmipathi Salai, Egmore, Chennai – 600008, Tamil Nadu, India.
Student wingMDMK Student Wing
Youth wingMDMK Youth Wing
Women's wingMDMK Women's Wing
Labour wingMarumalarchi Labour Front
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[1]
Colours  Red
ECI StatusUnrecognised parties[2]
AllianceSecular Progressive Alliance
Seats in Lok Sabha
1 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
1 / 245
Seats in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
4 / 234
Party flag
Website
www.mdmk.org.in

The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (transl. 'Renaissance Dravidian Progressive Federation') is a political party active in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It was established by Vaiko in 1994 after he left the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

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 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

Party flag and symbol

The election symbol is a top. The colour of the 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.[6]

Election history

The party has contested in many elections, however they notably boycotted the 2011 elections, and despite the UPA alliance in which they were in winning majority seats in Tamil Nadu and all over India in 2004 elections, in 2014 elections they couldn't do the same in Tamil Nadu, despite their alliance winning the elections in other states. And in the 2016 Tamil Nadu State elections they played a key role in forming the third front.[7]

2017 R. K. Nagar by-poll

After the defeat 2016 Elections, MDMK has slowly move towards DMK. Before R.K.Nagar bypoll Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) announced their support to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the Assembly by-poll. The alliance with DMK defined as a significant change because MDMK made an alliance with DMK after a decade.

2019 Indian Parliamentary Elections

MDMK continued its alliance with DMK, and they got one Lok Sabha seat. Former Member of Parliament Ganeshamurthi, from Erode constituency, was re-elected. In this election, the DMK alliance won 38 out of 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu.[8] MDMK won one Lok Sabha seat and one Rajya Sabha seats, Lok Sabha seat allocated for former parliament member Ganeshamurthi and Rajya Sabha seat allocated to General Secretary Vaiko. Vaiko entered Parliament again after 15 years.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ogden, Chris (20 June 2019). A Dictionary of Politics and International Relations in India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-253915-1. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Tamil: 'Renaissance Dravidian Progress Federation') A political party. It was established in 1994...
  2. ↑ "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 18.01.2013" (PDF). India: Election Commission of India. 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Indian Prez summons PM: Trust vote likely on July 21 or 22, Singh garners enough votes - Asian Tribune". Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Despite heavy security, MDMK men sneak in Bhopal ahead of Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit". The Economic Times. PTI. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "Vaiko's MDMK snaps ties with NDA, hits out at Modi govt - Times of India". The Times of India. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ Kumar, D. Suresh (24 March 2016). "In a first in two decades, T.N. Sees multiple alliances". The Hindu.
  8. ↑ "Erode Lok Sabha Election Result 2019 LIVE updates: Party, Candidate, Constituency wise Winner, Loser, Leading, Trailing". 23 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "Vaiko set to enter Parliament again after 15 years - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
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