The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was formed in 1972 following a split in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), when popular actor-turned politician MG Ramachandran (MGR), protested against DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s ‘dictatorial methods’. The exit of MGR, who made full use of his stardom for political success, and also became the link between State politics and the common man, marked a new phase in Dravidian politics. His role as AIADMK chief and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu marked the beginning of a phase of deification of political leaders. Subsequently, he registered sweeping victories in several elections. He won the State Assembly in 1977 and remained the Chief Minister till his death in 1987.
Since MGR had not named a successor, his death led to a bitter power tussle between two factions, one led by his wife Janaki Ramachandran and the other by Jayalalithaa. While it was easy for Janaki to win the vote of confidence of the MlAs, her tenure as the first woman Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu lasted for just 24 days after the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi dismissed her Government in 1988. The State Assembly was suspended and President’s Rule was imposed. The 1989 Assembly election saw the fall of the AIADMK and the successive rise of the DMK, which regained power almost after 12 years. However, Jayalalithaa, slowly but steadily rose in power and carved out a firm role in the AIADMK and turned its fortunes in 1991, when the party led to a landslide victory securing 225 seats of the 234 seats under Jayalalithaa. An alliance with the Congress and the banking on the wave of sympathy earned by the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi helped her gain this major victory. Here on, Jayalalithaa’s interesting career in politics began, later witnessing many ups and downs.
Amidst charges of corruption during its rule, the AIADMK lost the Assembly election of 1996. The DMK returned to power. Following a complaint filed by the then Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who accused Jayalalithaa of amassing wealth worth Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate to her known sources of income during 1991 to 1996, Amma was arrested on December 1996 and also spent a month in jail.
In October 2000, a special court in Chennai convicted Jayalalithaa in the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation land deal case. In May 2001, Jayalalithaa took the AIADMK to a landslide victory in the Assembly elections. But she was barred from contesting due to the pending corruption cases. Even then, her party appointed her as the Chief Minister, only to see her unseated by a Supreme Court order.
lady luck smiled on her once again as the Madras High Court acquitted her in the case and she eventually made a comeback as the Chief Minister in 2002. Issues such the 2G Spectrum scam, and the Sri lankan civil war led to the AIADMK defeating DMK by a wide margin. This dramatic victory also saw the rise of many of Amma’s populist schemes. She was sworn in for the fifth time as the Chief Minister in 2015, when she was aquitted in the disproportionate assets cases. The AIADMK supremo returned for a second consecutive term after her party won the 2016 Assembly election — thus becoming the first Chief Minister to do so since MGR. Sadly, the leader, who was known for both her charisma and benevolence, died following a long illness at a Chennai hospital. Ever since her death, the AIADMK has become both leaderless and directionless — and orphan.