# 2004 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu

The 2004 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. The result was a victory for the Democratic Progressive Alliance, which included the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its allies the Left Front which won all 39 seats in the state. DMK and its allies were also able to hold on to Pondicherry, which has 1 seat, which allowed the UPA to win all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. The 2 larger partners Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) (16) and Indian National Congress (INC) (10) won the majority of seats, with the junior partners Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) (5) and Marumaralarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) (4) winning the rest. The remaining 4 seats were won by the Left Front parties. Due to the support of the Left Front for the government at the centre, all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, supported the formation of the UPA-led government.
The DPA was formed, because DMK, PMK and MDMK, left the NDA mostly on the Ayodhya issue and created an alliance that supported the UPA. The NDA paid a price for it, when their BJP-AIADMK alliance couldn't even win a seat in this state.

## Seat allotments
### Democratic Progressive Alliance

| Party | Party | Leader | Seats Contested |
| | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | M. Karunanidhi | 15 |
| | Indian National Congress | G. K. Vasan | 9 |
| | Pattali Makkal Katchi | S. Ramadoss | 5 |
| | Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | Vaiko | 4 |
| | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | N. Varadarajan | 2 |
| | Communist Party of India | R. Nallakannu | 2 |
| Unrecognized party, whose candidate ran under the DMK ticket |||||
| | Indian Union Muslim League | K. M. Kader Mohideen | 1 |
| Unrecognized party, whose candidate ran under the INC ticket |||||
| | Congress Jananayaka Peravai | P. Chidambaram | 1 |

### National Democratic Alliance

| Party | Party | Flag | Election symbol | Leader | Seats Contested |
| | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | | | J. Jayalalithaa | 33 |
| | Bharatiya Janata Party | | | C. P. Radhakrishnan | 6 |

### People's alliance

| Party | Leader | Seats Contested | Seats Contested |
| Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi | Thol. Thirumavalavan | 8 | 25 |
| Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi | R. S. Raja Kannappan | 5 | 25 |
| Puthiya Tamilagam | K. Krishnasamy | 5 | 25 |
| Janata Dal (United) | George Fernandes | 3 | 25 |
| Indian National League | Janab | 3 | 25 |
| Puratchi Council | | 1 | 25 |

### Fourth front

| Party | Party | Flag | Election symbol | Leader | Seats Contested | Seats Contested |
| | Janata Party | | | Subramanian Swamy | 21 | 31 |
| | Puthiya Needhi Katchi | | | A. C. Shanmugam | 10 | 31 |
Note: The janata party and puthiya Needhi Katchi contested in janata party's symbol

## Voting and results
### Results by Pre-Poll Alliance

| Alliance | Alliance | Party | Party | Popular Vote | Percentage | Swing | Seats won | Seat Change |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 7,064,393 | 24.60% | 1.47% | 16 | 4 |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Indian National Congress | 4,134,255 | 14.40% | 3.30% | 10 | 8 |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Pattali Makkal Katchi | 1,927,367 | 6.71% | 1.50% | 5 | |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 1,679,870 | 5.95% | 0.10% | 4 | |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Communist Party of India | 852,981 | 2.97% | 0.41% | 2 | 2 |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 824,524 | 2.87% | 0.52% | 2 | 1 |
| | United Progressive Alliance | | Total | 16,483,390 | 57.50% | 4.10% | 39 | 15 |
| | National Democratic Alliance | | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 8,547,014 | 29.77% | 3.05% | 0 | 10 |
| | National Democratic Alliance | | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1,455,899 | 5.07% | 2.07% | 0 | 4 |
| | National Democratic Alliance | | Total | 10,002,913 | 34.84% | 0.98% | 0 | 14 |
| | Independents | Independents | Independents | 947,938 | 3.30% | 2.05% | 0 | |
| | Other Parties (13 parties) | Other Parties (13 parties) | Other Parties (13 parties) | 2,228,212 | 4.36% | 7.13% | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 28,714,515 | 100.00% | | 39 | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 28,714,515 | 99.94% | 99.94% | 99.94% | 99.94% |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 18,439 | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.06% |
| Total Votes | Total Votes | Total Votes | Total Votes | 28,732,954 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Registered Voters/Turnout | Registered Voters/Turnout | Registered Voters/Turnout | Registered Voters/Turnout | 47,252,271 | 60.81% | 2.83% | 2.83% | 2.83% |
†: Seat change represents seats won in terms of the current alliances, which is considerably different from the last election. Also the seat change for BJP, includes the merged party MADMK, who won 1 seat in the last election. ‡: Vote % reflects the percentage of votes the party received compared to the entire electorate that voted in this election. Adjusted (Adj.) Vote %, reflects the % of votes the party received per constituency that they contested. Sources: Election Commission of India

### 1999 vs. 2004 Alliance

| Coalition/Alliance | Parties contesting in Tamil Nadu from the Alliance in 1999 | Seats won in 1999 Election | Parties contesting in Tamil Nadu from the Alliance in 2004 | Seats won in 2004 Election | Swing |
| National Democratic Alliance | -Bharatiya Janata Party (4) -Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (12) -Marumaralarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (4) -Pattali Makkal Katchi (5) -MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1) | 26 | -Bharatiya Janata Party -All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 0 | −26 |
| United Progressive Alliance* | Indian National Congress (2) All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (10) | 12 | -Indian National Congress (10) -Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (16) -Marumaralarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (4) -Pattali Makkal Katchi (5) | 35 | +23 |
| Left Front | Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (Marxist) (1) | 1 | Communist Party of India (2) Communist Party of India (Marxist) (2) | 4 | +3 |
* Note: UPA was not in existence in 1999, instead the number of seats won in 1999, represents the seats won by Indian National Congress and its allies.
* Note: INC affiliated parties, are parties that did not form an alliance or coalition with Congress party, but instead gave outside support.
* Note: Left front, whose parties were allies of DMK in Tamil Nadu, was not part of the UPA, in 2004, instead gave outside support.

## List of Elected MPs

Voting Pattern in Tamil Nadu :
| Category | DMK+ | AIADMK+ | Others |
| Gender ||||
| Male | 54% | 32% | 14% |
| Female | 49% | 39% | 12% |
| Locality ||||
| Rural | 50% | 35% | 15% |
| Urban | 57% | 36% | 7% |
| Social class ||||
| Very poor | 44% | 37% | 17% |
| Poor | 55% | 31% | 14% |
| Lower middle | 57% | 37% | 6% |
| Middle | 51% | 39% | 10% |
| Caste ||||
| Upper caste | 33% | 54% | 13% |
| Thevar | 50% | 47% | 3% |
| Vanniyars | 61% | 33% | 6% |
| Chettiyars | 47% | 30% | 23% |
| Gounders | 57% | 33% | 10% |
| Nadars | 57% | 36% | 7% |
| Lower OBCs | 55% | 33% | 12% |
| Chekkliyars, Pallars, etc. | 39% | 38% | 23% |
| other Dalits | 40% | 37% | 23% |
| Muslims | 78% | 11% | 11% |
| Tell me how good each of the leaders are for Tamil Nadu... ||||
Source: NES Election 2004 Analysis
| Constituency | Winner | Party | % of Votes | Alliance | Runner-up | Party |
| 1. Chennai North | C. Kuppusami | DMK | 62.25 | UPA | M. N. Sukumar Nambiar | BJP |
| 2. Chennai Central | Dayanidhi Maran | DMK | 61.68 | UPA | N. Balaganga | AIADMK |
| 3. Chennai South | T. R. Baalu | DMK | 60.37 | UPA | Bader Sayeed | AIADMK |
| 4. Sriperumbudur | A. Krishnaswamy | DMK | 61.39 | UPA | P. Venugopal | AIADMK |
| 5. Chengalpattu | A. K. Moorthy | PMK | 56.85 | UPA | K. N. Ramachandran | AIADMK |
| 6. Arakkonam | R. Velu | PMK | 49.88 | UPA | N. Shanmugam | AIADMK |
| 7. Vellore | K. M. Kader Mohideen | DMK | 58.38 | UPA | A. Santhanam | AIADMK |
| 8. Tiruppattur | D. Venugopal | DMK | 58.43 | UPA | K. G. Subramani | AIADMK |
| 9. Vandavasi | N. Ramachandran Gingee | MDMK | 56.12 | UPA | R. Rajalakshmi | AIADMK |
| 10. Tindivanam | K. Dhanaraju | PMK | 50.40 | UPA | A. Arunmozhithevan | AIADMK |
| 11. Cuddalore | K. Venkatapathy | DMK | 52.63 | UPA | R. Rajendran | AIADMK |
| 12. Chidambaram | E. Ponnuswamy | PMK | 46.17 | UPA | Thol. Thirumavalavan | JD(U) |
| 13. Dharmapuri | R. Senthil | PMK | 55.93 | UPA | P. D. Elangovan | BJP |
| 14. Krishnagiri | E. G. Sugavanam | DMK | 54.51 | UPA | K. Nanje Gowdu | AIADMK |
| 15. Rasipuram | K. Rani | INC | 55.20 | UPA | S. Anbalagan | AIADMK |
| 16. Salem | K. V. Thangkabalu | INC | 59.93 | UPA | A. Rajasekaran | AIADMK |
| 17. Tiruchengode | Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan | DMK | 58.00 | UPA | K. Palaniswami | AIADMK |
| 18. Nilgiris | R. Prabhu | INC | 63.26 | UPA | Master M. Mathan | BJP |
| 19. Gobichettipalayam | E. V. K. S. Elangovan | INC | 62.75 | UPA | N. R. Govindarajar | AIADMK |
| 20. Coimbatore | K. Subbarayan | CPI | 57.43 | LF | C. P. Radhakrishnan | BJP |
| 21. Pollachi | C. Krishnan | MDMK | 56.76 | UPA | G. Murugan | AIADMK |
| 22. Palani | S. K. Kharventhan | INC | 64.50 | UPA | K. Kishore Kumar | AIADMK |
| 23. Dindigul | N. S. V. Chitthan | INC | 58.92 | UPA | M. Jeyaraman | AIADMK |
| 24. Madurai | P. Mohan | CPI(M) | 56.01 | LF | A. K. Bose | AIADMK |
| 25. Periyakulam | J. M. Aaron Rashid | INC | 49.51 | UPA | T. T. V. Dhinakaran | AIADMK |
| 26. Karur | K. C. Palanisamy | DMK | 60.43 | UPA | N. Palanichamy Raja | AIADMK |
| 27. Tiruchirappalli | L. Ganesan | MDMK | 63.59 | UPA | M. Paranjothi | AIADMK |
| 28. Perambalur | A. Raja | DMK | 55.01 | UPA | M. Sundaram | AIADMK |
| 29. Mayiladuturai | Mani Shankar Aiyar | INC | 59.08 | UPA | O. S. Manian | AIADMK |
| 30. Nagapattinam | A. K. S. Vijayan | DMK | 61.66 | UPA | P. J. Arjunan | AIADMK |
| 31. Thanjavur | S. S. Palanimanickam | DMK | 56.56 | UPA | K. Thangamuthu | AIADMK |
| 32. Pudukkottai | S. Regupathy | DMK | 56.82 | UPA | A. Ravichandran | AIADMK |
| 33. Sivaganga | P. Chidambaram | INC | 60.00 | UPA | S. P. Karuppiah | AIADMK |
| 34. Ramanathapuram | M. S. K. Bhavani Rajenthiran | DMK | 49.66 | UPA | C. Murugesan | AIADMK |
| 35. Sivakasi | A. Ravichandran | MDMK | 56.44 | UPA | P. Kannan | AIADMK |
| 36. Tirunelveli | R. Dhanuskodi Athithan | INC | 58.39 | UPA | R. Amirtha Ganesan | AIADMK |
| 37. Tenkasi | M. Appadurai | CPI | 48.85 | LF | S. Murugesan | AIADMK |
| 38. Tiruchendur | V. Radhika Selvi | DMK | 62.50 | UPA | T. Dhamodharan | AIADMK |
| 39. Nagercoil | A. V. Bellarmin | CPI(M) | 60.87 | LF | Pon. Radhakrishnan | BJP |

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

Source: The Hindu After the UPA victory in this election, Tamil Nadu was rewarded with 12 berths in Union Council of Ministers, with 6 cabinet berths, which is the most this state has ever received after an election. 7 of the Ministers were from DMK, 2 from PMK, while the rest were from Congress.

### Cabinet Ministers

| Minister | Party | Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha | Portfolios |
| P. Chidambaram | INC | Sivaganga | Minister of Finance |
| Mani Shankar Aiyar | INC | Mayiladuturai | Minister of Panchayati Raj and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region |
| T. R. Baalu | DMK | Chennai South | Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways |
| A. Raja | DMK | Perambalur (SC) | Minister of Environment and Forests |
| Dayanidhi Maran | DMK | Chennai Central | Minister of Communications and Information Technology |
| Anbumani Ramadoss | PMK | Rajya Sabha | Minister of Health and Family Welfare |

### Ministers of State

| Minister | Party | Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha | Portfolios |
| S. S. Palanimanickam | DMK | Thanjavur | Minister of Finance |
| S. Regupathy | DMK | Pudukkottai | Minister of Environment and Forests |
| K. Venkatapathy | DMK | Cuddalore | Minister of Law and Justice |
| Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan | DMK | Tiruchengode | Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| E. V. K. S. Elangovan | INC | Gobichettipalayam | Minister of Commerce and Industry |
| R. Velu | PMK | Arakkonam | Minister of Railways |