The AIADMK for the first time is going it alone in the Lok Sabha elections, since its launch in 1972.
The Dravidian outfits have a track record of jumping into the poll fray in an alliance, except in the 1957 general elections when the DMK, in its debut, contested alone in a few Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.
The DMK, which boycotted the first general election held in 1952, decided to contest the second general elections after a public referendum at the party’s conference in Tiruchi in 1956. In its debut election, the DMK emerged victorious in two Parliamentary constituencies.
In the next elections held in 1962, the DMK joined hands with the Swatantara Party and the Indian Union Muslim League and the outcome was not very impressive. In 1967, the party forged a grand alliance which included Swatantra, CPI (M) and IUML and it bagged 36 seats apart from DMK wresting power from Congress in the State. Since then, the DMK has been leading one alliance or the other in the elections.
The DMK-Congress (I) alliance won 38 seats in the 1971 elections, and 37 seats in the 1980 polls.
The DMK–the erstwhile Tamil Maanila Congress–CPI front made history by winning all the 39 seats in the 1996 election, a feat that was repeated by the DMK-led alliance comprising the Congress, the MDMK, the PMK, the CPI and the CPI (M) in the 2004 elections.
The AIADMK fought its debut general election in 1977 in the company of Congress and this combine grabbed 34 seats.
In the 1980 elections, it was in the company of Janata party and this combine could win only two constituencies.
In the 1984 elections, the AIADMK was back in the Congress fold, which won 37 seats. This alliance continued in the 1989 and 1991 elections too and on both the occasion, the alliance scored landslide victory by winning 38 and all 39 seats respectively.
The AIADMK switched over to the BJP camp in the 1998 election and returned to the Congress fold in the elections held next year.
In the 2009 general elections, the DMK combine, including the Congress, the VCK and the IUML bagged 27 seats, while the AIADMK alliance comprising the CPI (M), the CPI and the MDMK secured 12 seats.
The electoral combine led by the DMK drew a blank in 1991, while the front led by AIADMK was unable to win a single seat twice in 1996 and 2004 elections.
