# 1980 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu

The 1980 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu saw elections for all 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The result was a landslide victory for the Indian National Congress (Indira) and its ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, who won 37 out of 39 seats. Many observers considered it an upset defeat for the ruling state party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and its general secretary M. G. Ramachandran, which only won 2 seats—Gobichettipalayam and Sivakasi. Prior to the election, INC leader Indira Gandhi had formed an alliance with the DMK, resulting in an important part of her victory in the nationwide election that returned her to the office of Prime Minister of India.

## Seat Allotment
### Congress Front

| No. | Party | Leader | Seats |
| 1. | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi | 22 |
| 2. | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | M. Karunanidhi | 16 |
| 3. | Indian Union Muslim League | | 1 |

### Janata Alliance

| No. | Party | Leader | Seats |
| 1. | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | M. G. Ramachandran | 24 |
| 2. | Janata Party | P. Ramachandran | 9 |
| 3. | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | G. Ramakrishnan | 3 |
| 4. | Communist Party of India | Tha.Pandian | 3 |

## Voting and results

| Alliance | Alliance | Party | Party | Popular Vote | Percentage | Swing | Seats won | Seat Change |
| | DMK+ | | Indian National Congress (Indira) | 5,821,411 | 31.62% | 9.35% | 20 | 6 |
| | DMK+ | | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 4,236,537 | 23.01% | 4.40% | 16 | 14 |
| | DMK+ | | Independent | 232,567 | 1.26% | | 1 | |
| | DMK+ | | Total | 10,290,515 | 55.89% | 15.01% | 37 | 21 |
| | AIADMK+ | | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 4,674,064 | 25.38% | 4.66% | 2 | 15 |
| | AIADMK+ | | Janata Party | 1,465,782 | 7.96% | 9.71% | 0 | 3 |
| | AIADMK+ | | Communist Party of India | 660,940 | 3.59% | 1.01% | 0 | 3 |
| | AIADMK+ | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 591,869 | 3.21% | 1.65% | 0 | |
| | AIADMK+ | | Total | 7,392,655 | 40.14% | 13.73% | 2 | 21 |
| | Janata Party (Secular) | Janata Party (Secular) | Janata Party (Secular) | 98,729 | 0.54% | new party | 0 | new party |
| | Indian National Congress (Urs) | Indian National Congress (Urs) | Indian National Congress (Urs) | 41,671 | 0.23% | new party | 0 | new party |
| | Republican Party of India | Republican Party of India | Republican Party of India | 9,497 | 0.05% | 0.03% | 0 | |
| | Independents | Independents | Independents | 579,677 | 3.15% | 2.07% | 0 | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 18,412,744 | 100.00% | | 39 | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 18,412,744 | 98.11% | 98.11% | 98.11% | 98.11% |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 355,074 | 1.89% | 1.89% | 1.89% | 1.89% |
| Total Votes | Total Votes | Total Votes | Total Votes | 18,767,818 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Registered Voters/Turnout | Registered Voters/Turnout | Registered Voters/Turnout | Registered Voters/Turnout | 28,113,893 | 66.76% | 0.37% | 0.37% | 0.37% |
* The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was part of an alliance with Indira Congress in 1977, while the DMK is in alliance with them for the 1980 election

## List of Elected MPs

| Constituency | Winner | Party | Margin | Runner-up$^a$ | Party$^a$ |
| Madras North | G. Lakshmanan | DMK | 99,318 | M. S. Abdul Khader | AIADMK |
| Madras Central | A. Kalanidhi | DMK | 105,049 | P. Ramachandran | JP |
| Madras South | R. Venkataraman | INC(I) | 120,362 | E. V. K. Sulochana Sampath | AIADMK |
| Sriperumbudur | T. Nagaratnam | DMK | 82,777 | S. Jaganathan | AIADMK |
| Chengalpattu | Era. Anbarasu | INC(I) | 110,016 | R. Mohanarangam | AIADMK |
| Arakkonam | A. M. Velu | INC(I) | 117,361 | A. M. Raghunathan | AIADMK |
| Vellore | A. K. A. Abdul Samad | IUML | 79,546 | V. Dhandayuthapani | JP |
| Tiruppattur | S. Murugaiyan | DMK | 115,361 | M. Panduranganr | AIADMK |
| Vandavasi | D. Pattuswamy Mudaliar | INC(I) | 127,154 | C. A. Venugopal Gounder | AIADMK |
| Tindivanam | S. S. Ramasamy Padayachi | INC(I) | 156,898 | V. Munusamy Thirukkuralar | AIADMK |
| Cuddalore | R. Muthukumaran | INC(I) | 108,651 | Aravinda Pala Pajanor | AIADMK |
| Chidambaram | V. Kulandaivelu | DMK | 138,725 | S. Mahalingam | CPI(M) |
| Dharmapuri | K. Arjunan | DMK | 66,871 | G. Bhuvarahan | JP |
| Krishnagiri | Vazhappady K. Ramamurthy | INC(I) | 100,511 | V. Rajagopal | AIADMK |
| Rasipuram | B. Devarajan | INC(I) | 59,872 | S. Anbalagan | AIADMK |
| Salem | C. Palaniappan | DMK | 26,258 | P. Kamnan | AIADMK |
| Tiruchengode | M. Kandaswamy | DMK | 21,218 | R. Kolandaivelu | AIADMK |
| Nilgiris | R. Prabhu | INC(I) | 85,743 | T. T. S. Thippiah | JP |
| Gobichettipalayam | G. Chinnasamy | AIADMK | 13,875 | N. R. Thiruvenkadam | INC(I) |
| Coimbatore | Ram Mohan | DMK | 56,109 | Parvathi Krishnan | CPI |
| Pollachi | C. T. Dhandapani | DMK | 15,735 | M. A. M. Natarajan | AIADMK |
| Palani | A. Senapathi Gounder | INC(I) | 59,568 | P. S. K. Lakhmipathy Raju | JP |
| Dindigul | K. Maya Thevar | DMK | 26,746 | V. Rajan Chellappa | AIADMK |
| Madurai | A. G. Subburaman | INC(I) | 69,195 | A. Balasubramanyam | CPI(M) |
| Periyakulam | Cumbum N. Natarajan | DMK | 19,882 | S. Ramasamy | AIADMK |
| Karur | S. A. Dorai Sebastian | INC(I) | 74,143 | K. Kanagaraj | AIADMK |
| Tiruchirappalli | N. Selvaraj | DMK | 73,599 | T. K. Rangarajan | CPI(M) |
| Perambalur | K. B. S. Mani | INC(I) | 99,172 | S. Thangaraju | AIADMK |
| Mayiladuthurai | Kudanthai N. Ramalingam | INC(I) | 92,005 | S. Govindasamy | JP |
| Nagapattinam | M. Thazhai Karunanithi | DMK | 10,674 | K. Murugayan | CPI |
| Thanjavur | S. Singaravadivel | INC(I) | 44,539 | K. Thangamuthu | AIADMK |
| Pudukkottai | V. N. Swaminathan | INC(I) | 16,099 | Kuzha Chellaya | AIADMK |
| Sivaganga | R. V. Swaminathan | INC(I) | 134,561 | D. Pandian | CPI |
| Ramanathapuram | M. S. K. Sathyendran | DMK | 84,133 | P. Anbalagan | AIADMK |
| Sivakasi | N. Soundararajan | AIADMK | 6,612 | V. Jayalakshmi | INC(I) |
| Tirunelveli | D. S. A. Sivaprakasam | DMK | 59,962 | V. Arunachalam | AIADMK |
| Tenkasi | M. Arunachalam | INC(I) | 108,316 | S. Rajagopalan | JP |
| Tiruchendur | K. T. Kosalram | INC | 113,819 | N. Soundarapandian | JP |
| Nagercoil | N. Dennis | INC(I) | 38,408 | P. Vijayaraghavan | JP |

## Post-election Union Council of Ministers from Tamil Nadu
### Cabinet Ministers

| Minister | Party | Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha | Portfolios |
| R. Venkataraman | INC | Madras South | Ministry of Finance |