The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK; ) is an Indian regional political party with the most influence in the union territory of Puducherry and state of Tamil Nadu. It is a Dravidian party adhering to the policies of socialism and secularism based on the principles of C. N. Annadurai collectively coined as Annaism. The party is one of the most successful political outfits in Tamil Nadu and has won the majority in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly most number of times (seven). The party is headquartered at Puratchi Thalaivar M. G. R. Maaligai located at Royapettah in Chennai.
The party was founded on 17 October 1972 after a breakaway from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). M. G. Ramachandran launched the party, which was earlier registered by Anakaputhur Ramalingam, and became the first general secretary. It was founded after Ramachandran was expelled from the DMK by its president M. Karunanidhi after he demanded the accounts of the party as the party treasurer. The party won the elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly three times consecutively in 1977, 1980, and 1985 under the leadership of Ramachandran, who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 to 1987.
After Ramachandran's death in December 1987, the party was split briefly between Ramachandran's wife V. N. Janaki and J. Jayalalithaa. The party was led by Jayalalithaa from January 1988 till her death in December 2016. Jayalalithaa served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for six times. She was popular among the party cadres, and was fondly referred to as "Amma" (Mother).
After Jayalalithaa's death and brief tussle for leadership, the party was under the dual leadership of O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami as coordinator and joint coordinator respectively from August 2017 23 June 2022. Paneerselvan succeeded Jayalilathaa as the chief minister briefly, before Palaniswami occupied the position from February 2017 to May 2021. Since 11 July 2022, the party has been led by Palaniswami, who serves as the general secretary.
Ideology and policies
The AIADMK sought to depoliticise the education policy of the government by not insisting that education be in the Tamil language. Policies of the AIADMK were targeted at the poorer segments of Tamil society—the poor, rickshaw pullers, and destitute women—and centralising the massive Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Nutritious Meal Programme for children. There was ambivalence towards the reservation policy and the interests of farmers. The party functions on the principles and the ideals of E. V. Ramasami and the former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa.
The AIADMK posted an array of welfare schemes targeting the human development index of the state. The AIADMK has schemes listed in the election manifestos covering segments of the population, including fishermen, farmers, and schoolchildren. Until the 2000s, the parties had welfare programmes such as maternity leave, subsidies for public transportation, and educational grants. After the 2000s, the parties started competing at an increasing level for the distribution of consumer goods. The AIADMK government distributed free bicycles to class 11 and 12 students during its tenure of 2001–06. In its manifesto for the 2006 assembly elections, the DMK promised free colour televisions in competition with other parties. The competition continued during the 2011 assembly elections, when both parties announced free laptops for school students and mixers, fans, and blenders for the public.
Culture The party remains firm in its support for the "two-language policy", in opposition to demands to have Hindi as the sole lingua franca language, where Tamil and English are the two main languages of Tamil Nadu. The party provided for temples of local deities in 2016.
Economy In 2012, the AIADMK-led government announced the "Vision 2023" document, which embodied a strategic plan for infrastructure development that included raising the per capita income of residents to $10 thousand per annum, matching the Human Development Index to that of developed countries by 2023, providing high-quality infrastructure all over the state, and making Tamil Nadu the knowledge capital and innovation hub of India. This project had three components: the overall vision document, the compilation of the project profile, and the road map. In the spring of 2019, the party lauded the economic policies of the Narendra Modi-led government, stating that the government had ushered in economic stability and made the country a "decisive player" in regional economics, and voiced support for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which had been opposed by their rival, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
During the AIADMK regime, Tamil Nadu was the best-performing big state overall from 2018 to 2021. With a gross state domestic product of $290 billion, or ₹21.6 lakh crore, Tamil Nadu became India's second-largest economy.
Social justice In 1980, the AIADMK under M. G. Ramachandran reversed his decision on economic criteria after the AIADMK faced a close defeat in the Indian general election in Tamil Nadu. He further raised the quota for the backward classes from 31% to 50%, bringing the total reservation to 68%. In November 1980, MGR led AIADMK government promulgated an ordinance, abolishing the traditional village officer (V. O.) system, removing around 24,000 incumbents and replacing them with Village Administrative Officers (V. A. O.) recruited through examinations. In 1993, the AIADMK government under J. Jayalalithaa passed the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes Bill, 1993, in the Assembly (Act 45 of 1994). The bill was sent to the president for approval. The government led a cross-party committee of Tamil Nadu politicians to Delhi to meet with the central government. She also demanded that the government of Tamil Nadu's act be placed in the ninth schedule of the Indian Constitution, ensuring that the law cannot be challenged in any court. Later, on 19 July 1994, the presidential assent was received, and it confirmed the 69% reservation for Tamil Nadu.
In 1994, Jayalalithaa government introduced a 33% reservation for women in local bodies in line with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, mandating such reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions. In 2001, Jayalalithaa government ordered that women and Scheduled Castes be given reservation for two consecutive terms in local bodies, noting that the 73rd Constitutional Amendment does not specify the rotation period. The move aimed to help first-time representatives overcome initial socio-economic and administrative challenges and function more effectively. On 20 February 2016, the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government passed the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016, and the Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Amendment) Act, 2016, in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly, further enhancing the reservation for women from 33% to 50% in local bodies such as municipal corporations, municipalities, town panchayats, and village panchayats of the state.
State water policy In 2006, the AIADMK initiated a case in the Supreme Court to uphold the state's rights on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue. As a result, in May 2014, a Supreme Court verdict allowed Tamil Nadu to increase the storage level in the Mullaperiyar Dam to 142 feet from 136 feet and struck down the unconstitutional law enacted by the government of Kerala in 2006 restricting the storage level to 136 feet. This Supreme Court decision ensured the farmers' and people's livelihoods in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. In February 2013, the government of India notified the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on the directions of the Supreme Court. After 22 years of legal battle, chief minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa called it a "tremendous achievement" of her government that the state had received due justice. Then Jayalalithaa said that it was the happiest day of her life and the happiest day for the farmers in Tamil Nadu; she recalled her famous fast-unto-death at Marina Beach in 1993.
Education MGR led AIADMK government introduced the 10+2 system in 1978 by abolishing the PUC and moving higher secondary education to schools (Class 11 and Class 12), with infrastructure such as laboratories added to improve rural access. The resulting rise in demand for college education led the MGR government to encourage private engineering colleges, beginning in the early 1980s, with a policy reserving 50% of seats under government quota and restricting capitation fees.
In May 2017, Palaniswami government formed a high-level committee to reform the Tamil Nadu school education system. The school textbook syllabus and exam pattern for classes 1 to 12 were revised on par with CBSE standards in phases, starting from the 2018–19 academic year, to better prepare students for competitive exams. In May 2020, the Palaniswami led AIADMK government passed an order for reservation of 7.5% of seats in government medical colleges to students from public schools.
Environment and nature The AIADMK was one of two parties, along with the BJP, to not voice opposition against a ban on cattle slaughter through the national Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. However, it has sought an exemption in the Act regarding traditional bull fighting; the party supports popular opinion in Tamil Nadu that traditional bull fighting, known as Jallikattu, should not be banned by the central government due to an APEX court ruling against animal cruelty. During the controversy, the party demanded that the animal rights organisation PETA be banned.
In March 2017, the AIADMK government led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami implemented the Kudimaramathu Scheme to rejuvenate water bodies with the participation of agriculturalists, reviving the age-old practice of community participation in the maintenance and management of tank irrigation systems. In May 2018, the AIADMK government ordered the closure of the Sterlite Copper factory in Thoothukkudi in the interest of the people, knowing that the air and water in the city are being heavily polluted by the factory, which has been at the centre of violent protests by locals to protect and improve the environment. In February 2020, the AIADMK government declared the Cauvery Delta region a protected special agriculture zone. This announcement was widely hailed by political parties and farmer organisations. The AIADMK opposes the building of the Mekedatu Dam, which could reduce water flows into Tamil Nadu and negatively affect quality of life for residents and agriculture.
History
M. G. Ramachandran era (1972–1987)