Tamil Nadu News

Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu in Elections

April 17 , 2026 14 hrs 0 min 20 0

Voters in Tamil Nadu have repeatedly defeated even Chief Ministers, showing strong electoral accountability.
In 1952, CM P. S. Kumaraswami Raja (Congress) lost from Srivilliputhur to Independent D.K. Raja.
In 1967, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power defeating Congress; CM M. Bhakthavatchalam lost from Sriperumbudur to D. Rajarathinam by 8,926 votes.
In the same 1967 election, former CM K. Kamaraj lost from Virudhunagar to P. Seenivasan by 1,285 votes, marking the decline of Congress dominance.
After 1967, no sitting CM lost elections for nearly 30 years until 1996, when CM J. Jayalalithaa lost from Bargur to E.G. Sugavanam (DMK) by 8,366 votes due to strong anti-incumbency.
Janaki Ramachandran lost her only election from Andipatti after becoming CM.
M. Karunanidhi never lost an Assembly election (won 13 times), and M. G. Ramachandran also never lost any election.
M. K. Stalin and Edappadi K. Palaniswami had lost elections earlier before becoming Chief Ministers.