All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

• The party remains firm on its support for the "two language policy", in opposition to centre demands to have Hindi as the sole lingua franca language, where Tamil and English are the two main languages of Tamil Nadu.[20]
• The party provides Rs. 1 lakh for temples of local deities in 2016.[21]

In the spring of 2019, the party lauded the economic policies of the Narendra Modi-led central government, stating that the centre had ushered in economic stability and made the country a "decisive player" in regional economics, and voiced support for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which had been opposed by their rival the DMK.[22]

• In 1980, the AIADMK under M. G. Ramachandran reversed his decision of economic criteria after the AIADMK faced a close defeat in the 1980 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu. He further raised the quota for the Backward Classes from 31 percent to 50 percent making the total reservation to 68%.[23]
• In 1993, J. Jayalalithaa's AIADMK government passed the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes Bill, 1993 in the Assembly (Act 45 of 1994).[24] The Bill was sent to the President for his approval. J. Jayalalithaa's AIADMK government led a cross-party committee of Tamil Nadu politicians to Delhi to meet with the Central government. She also demanded that the Tamil Nadu[25] government's Act be placed in the Constitution's Ninth Schedule, ensuring that it cannot be contested in any court. The President's signature was received, confirming the 69 percent reservation for Tamil Nadu.[26]

• In 2006, AIADMK had initiated a case in the Supreme Court to uphold the state's rights on Mullaperiyar Dam issue. As a result, in May 2014, Supreme court verdict allowed the Tamil Nadu State to increase the storage level in the Mullaperiyar Dam to 142 feet from 136 ft and struck down the unconstitutional law enacted by the Kerala Government in 2006 restricting the storage level to 136 ft.[27] This Supreme Court Verdict sustained the livelihood of the farmers and people in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu.[28]
• In February 2013, the Union Government notified the final award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on the directions of the Supreme Court. Then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa termed it as a "tremendous achievement" of her government after 22 long years of legal battle, the State had got Due justice.[29] Then Jayalalithaa said that it was the happiest day of her life and the happiest day for the farmers in Tamil Nadu, she recalled her famous fast-unto-death at Marina beach in 1993.[30][31][32]

• The AIADMK was one of two parties, along with BJP, not to voice opposition against a ban of cattle slaughter through the national Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. It has however sought an exemption in the Act over traditional bull fighting;[33] the party supports popular opinion in Tamil Nadu that traditional bull fighting, known as Jallikattu, should not be banned by the centre due to a ruling by the APEX court against animal cruelty.[34] During the controversy, The party called for animal-rights organisation PETA to be banned.[35]
• The AIADMK government has ordered the closure of the Sterlite Copper factory in Thoothukudi in the interest of the people, knowing that the air and water in the city are being heavily polluted by the factory, which has been at the center of violent protests by locals to protect and improve the environment.[36]
• AIADMK opposes the building of the Mekedatu Dam which could reduce water flows into Tamil Nadu and negatively affect quality-of-live for residents and agriculture.[37]

Dr. M.G. Ramachandran
Founder of the party

The party was founded on 17 October 1972 as Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) by M. G. Ramachandran, a veteran Tamil film star and popular politician. It was set up as a breakaway faction of the DMK led by M. Karunanidhi, then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, owing to personal differences between the two.[38] M.G.R., who wanted to start a new party, then incorporated Anakaputhur Ramalingam into the party which had registered under the name 'ADMK'. He then declared, ‘I joined the party started by an ordinary volunteer’ and gave the post of Member of Legislative Council (MLC) to Ramalingam. Later, M.G.R. prefixed the All India (AI) tag to the party's name to save himself from IT raids and protect the party during Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).[39] Since its inception, the relationship between the AIADMK and DMK has been marked by mutual contempt. M.G.R. used his fan network to build the party cadre with claims his party recruited more than a million members in the first two months. C. N. Annadurai's ideologue and movie producer turned politician R. M. Veerappan was the key architect in unifying the M.G.R. fan clubs and further consolidating the party structure in the 70s. Other key leaders such as Nanjil K. Manoharan and S. D. Somasundaram played major roles in consolidation.[40] Pavalar M. Muthusamy was elected the first presidium chairman of the party.[41] The party's first victories were the win of Maya Thevar in Dindigul parliamentary bye-election in May 1973[42] and the win of C. Aranganayagam in Coimbatore West assembly bye-election a year later.[40] On 2 April 1973, AIADMK emerged as the third largest political party in Tamil Nadu, represented by 11 MLAs in the assembly. By 31 January 1976, AIADMK emerged as the second largest political party in Tamil Nadu with 16 MLAs in the assembly. AIADMK grew close to the Indian National Congress party by supporting the National Emergency between 1975 and 1977.

The DMK-led government was dismissed by a central promulgation on corruption charges in 1976. The AIADMK swept to power in 1977, defeating the DMK in the assembly election. M.G.R. sworn in as 3rd chief minister of the Tamil Nadu on 30 June 1977 and he remained in power until his death on 24 December 1987 by winning consecutive assembly elections held in 1980 and 1984.[38] In 1979, AIADMK became the first dravidian and regional party to be part of the Union Cabinet. Sathiavani Muthu and A. Bala Pajanor were the MPs joined the short-lived union ministry headed by Charan Singh, former prime minister of India.[39]

Relationship between the AIADMK and the INC slowly became strained. In the 1980 Indian general election, the INC aligned with the DMK and the alliance won 37 out of the 39 state parliamentary seats. The AIADMK won just two seats.[43] After returning to power Indira Gandhi dismissed a number of state governments belonging to the opposition parties, including the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu.

Election in 1980 with the opposition DMK continuing the electoral alliance with the INC. In a massive reversal of fortunes following the Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK won a comfortable majority in the state assembly with 129 of 234 seat. M.G.R. sworn in as chief minister for the second time on 9 June 1980.[43]

In 1984, even with M.G.R.'s failing health and hospitalization, the party won the assembly election in alliance with the INC. Many political historians consider M.G.R.'s persona and charisma at this point of time as "infallible", and a logical continuation of his on-screen "good lad" image, strengthened by his "mythical status" in the minds of the masses.[44] M.G.R. continued to enjoy popular support in his third tenure until his death on 24 December 1987.[44]

Following M.G.R.'s death, his wife, actress-turned-politician V. N. Janaki Ramachandran, rose to the party's leadership under support of R. M. Veerappan and 98 MLAs. She led the government for 23 days as the state's first female chief minister from 7 January 1988 until the state assembly was suspended on 30 January 1988 and President's rule imposed. The party began to crumble due to infighting and broke into two factions, one under Janaki Ramachandran and the other under J. Jayalalithaa, an associate of M.G.R. and another film actress-turned-politician who had starred with M.G.Ramachandran. The Election Commission Froze the "Two Leaves" symbol on 17 December 1988.[45] The 1989 assembly election saw the DMK regain power after 12 years in the opposition with M. Karunanidhi returning as the chief minister for the third time. AIADMK, due to its split, suffered heavily in the election, with the Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa factions winning only 2 and 27 seats respectively.[44] Following AIADMK's rout in the election, the factions led by Jayalalithaa and Janaki Ramachandran merged under the former's leadership on 10 February 1989, as Janaki decided that politics was not her forte. On 11 February 1989, Then Chief Election Commissioner R. V. S. Peri Sastri granted the Two Leaves symbol to the united AIADMK Party led by Jayalalithaa.[46] The AIADMK forged an alliance with the Indian National Congress (INC) in the 1989 lok sabha election and won 37 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. The DMK government was dismissed in 1991 by the central government headed by then prime minister Chandra Shekhar, an ally of the AIADMK at that time, on charges that the constitutional machinery in the state had broken down.

Dr. J. Jayalalithaa
Former General Secretary of the party

The AIADMK allied with the Indian National Congress (INC) and swept to power in the 1991 assembly election under the leadership of J. Jayalalithaa who became the second female and fifth chief minister of the state. Political observers have ascribed the landslide victory to the anti-incumbent wave arising out of the assassination of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi[44] by suspected Tamil separatists fighting for a homeland in neighbouring Sri Lanka. The ensuing government, was accused of large-scale corruption, but Jayalalithaa held on to power for a full term of five years. In the 1996 assembly election, AIADMK continued its alliance with the INC but suffered a massive rout, winning only 4 out of the 234 assembly seats, with even Jayalalithaa losing from Bargur constituency.[47][48]

The AIADMK formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), another breakaway faction of the DMK, during the parliamentary election in 1998.[47] AIADMK shared power with the BJP in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee headed government between 1998 and 1999,[39] but withdrew support in early 1999, leading to the fall of the BJP government. Following this, the AIADMK once again allied with the INC.

In the 2001 assembly election, the AIADMK-led alliance, consisting of the Indian National Congress, the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) (TMC(M)), the Left Front and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), regained power, winning 197 seats, with AIADMK winning 132.[49] Due to the proceedings in a disproportionate assets case which occurred in her previous tenure, Jayalalithaa was prevented from holding office. O. Panneerselvam, a close confidant of Jayalalithaa was appointed as the Chief Minister for the first time on 21 September 2001. Once the Supreme Court of India overturned Jayalalithaa's conviction and sentence in the case, O. Panneerselvam resigned on 2 March 2002, and Jayalalithaa again sworn in as chief minister for the third time.[49]

Her second term was not marred by corruption scandals. She took many popular decisions such as banning of lottery tickets, restricting the liquor and sand quarrying business to government agencies and banning tobacco product sales near schools and colleges. She encouraged women to join the state police force by setting up all women-police stations and commissioning 150 women into the elite level police commandos in 2003, a first in India. The women had the same training as men and included handling weapons, detection and disposal of bombs, driving, horseriding, and adventure sports.[50] She sent a special task force to the Sathyamangalam forests in October 2004 to hunt down notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. The operation was successful as he was killed by the task force on 18 October 2004.

However, despite the popular measures taken by the government, in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, the party, in alliance with the BJP again, was humiliated, winning none of the 39 Lok Sabha seats from the state. The Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA), a DMK-led alliance consisting of all the major opposition parties in the state, swept the election.

Later, in the 2006 assembly election, in spite of media speculations of a hung assembly, the AIADMK, contesting with only the support of MDMK and a few other smaller parties, won 61 seats compared to the DMK's 96 and was pushed out of power by the DMK-led congressional alliance of the PMK and the Left Front. The AIADMK's electoral reversals continued in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. However, the party's performance was better than its debacle in 2004, and it managed to win nine seats.

Swearing-in Ceremony of the Council of Ministers headed by Jayalalithaa on 16 May 2011

Following widespread corruption and allegations of nepotism against the DMK government, in the 2011 assembly election, the party, in alliance with parties like the left and actor-turned-politician Vijayakant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), swept the polls, winning 202 seats, with the AIADMK winning 150. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth time.[49]

In the union territory of Puducherry, the AIADMK allied with N. Rangasamy's All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) and won the 2011 assembly election, which was held in parallel with the Tamil Nadu assembly election. However, it did not join the newly elected AINRC-led government. The AIADMK's good electoral performance continued in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Contesting without allies, the AIADMK won an unprecedented 37 out of 39 seats in the state of Tamil Nadu, emerged as the third-largest party in parliament.

On 29 August 2014, J. Jayalalithaa was elected as the general secretary of the party for the 7th consecutive term, Making her the longest serving general secretary of the party until date. Earlier, She was elected in the years of 1988, 1989, 1993, 1998, 2003,[51] 2008[52] and 2014.[53] During her longest tenure as general secretary, V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, K. Kalimuthu, Pulamaipithan,[54] C. Ponnaiyan[55][56] and E. Madhusudhanan[57] were served as the presidium chairmen of the party.[41]

On 27 September 2014, Jayalalithaa was convicted in the Disproportionate assets case by a Special Court along with her associates V. K. Sasikala, Ilavarasi and V. N. Sudhakaran, and sentenced to four-year simple imprisonment. Jayalalithaa was also fined ₹100 crores and her associates were fined ₹10 crore each. The case had political implications as it was the first case where a ruling chief minister had to step down on account of a court sentence.[58]

Due to her resignation O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as Chief Minister on 29 September 2014.[59] Jayalalithaa was denied bail by the High Court and moved the Supreme Court for bail. The Supreme Court granted bail on 17 October 2014. On 11 May 2015, the high court of Karnataka said she was acquitted from that case, and was again sworn in as Chief Minister for the fifth time.

In the 2016 assembly election contesting without allies, the AIADMK swept the polls, winning 135 out of 234 seats. On 23 May 2016, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the sixth time.[49]

On 22 September 2016, she was admitted to Apollo Hospital, Chennai due to fever and dehydration. After a prolonged illness, she died on 5 December 2016.

Under Jayalalithaa's regime, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam spread beyond Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. State units are established in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. The party also has a following in places like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Maharashtra, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Telangana in India, also in countries where Tamil people are present.

In Karnataka, the party had members in the state assembly from 1983 to 2004 and has influence in the Tamil-speaking areas of Bengaluru and Kolar.

In Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, the party contested in some legislative assembly elections, but did not win a single seat in any of the elections.

After J. Jayalalithaa's death on 5 December 2016, her long-time friend V. K. Sasikala was selected unanimously as the General Secretary of the party on 16 December 2016.[60][61] On February 5, 2017, she was selected as the leader of the legislative assembly as chief minister. O. Panneerselvam rebelled against V. K. Sasikala and reported that he had been compelled to resign as Chief Minister, bringing in a new twist to Tamil Nadu Politics. Due to a conviction in Disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, Sasikala was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment in the Bengaluru Central Prison. Before that, she appointed Edappadi K. Palaniswami as legislative party leader (Chief Minister).

She also appointed her nephew and former Treasurer of the party T. T. V. Dhinakaran as the deputy general secretary of AIADMK party. With the support of 123 MLAs, Edappadi K. Palaniswami became chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

On 23 March 2017, the election commission of India gave separate party symbols to the two factions; O. Panneerselvam's faction known as AIADMK (PURATCHI THALAIVI AMMA), while Edappadi K. Palaniswami's faction known as AIADMK (AMMA).

By-polls were announced at the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency which was vacated due to Jayalalithaa's death. But, the election commission canceled the by-polls after evidence of large-scale bribing by the ruling AIADMK (AMMA) surfaced. On 17 April 2017, Delhi police registered a case against Dhinakaran who was also the candidate for AIADMK (AMMA) for the by-poll at Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar regarding an allegation of attempting to bribe the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the AIADMK's election symbol. However the Tis Hazari Special Court granted him bail on the grounds that the police failed to identify the public official allegedly bribed.

T. T. V. Dhinakaran started his party work on 5 August 2017. However, the chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had a fallout with Dhinakaran and announced that the appointment of T. T. V. Dinakaran as deputy general secretary was invalid. So T. T. V. Dhinakaran claims that's "We are the real AIADMK and 95% of its cadres are with us."

On 12 September 2017, the AIADMK general council which appointed her earlier, cancelled V. K. Sasikala's appointment as general secretary and officially expelled her from the party as a primary member.[62][63]

Earlier on 10 August 2017, T. T. V. Dhinakaran was sacked as deputy general secretary at the meeting headed by Edappadi K. Palaniswami at Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai.[64][63]

After completion of her imprisonment at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, Sasikala filed a case in the City Civil Court IV of Chennai in February 2021, but it upheld her dismissal as the AIADMK general secretary in April 2022.[65]

On 21 August 2017, both O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami factions of the AIADMK merged and O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with portfolio of Finance and the coordinator of AIADMK. He also holds portfolios of Housing, Rural Housing, Housing Development, Slum Clearance Board and Accommodation Control, Town Planning, Urban Development, and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.[66] On 4 January 2018, O. Panneerselvam was elected Leader of the House in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

On 12 September 2017, the AIADMK general council decided to cancel V. K. Sasikala's appointment as general secretary and officially expelled her from the party, though prominent members appointed to party posts by her were allowed to continue discharging their functions. Instead, the late J. Jayalalithaa was named the eternal general secretary of AIADMK.[62][63]

A day after the merger of two AIADMK factions, 19 MLAs[67] owing allegiance to ousted deputy general secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran on 22 April 2017 submitted letters to Governor, expressing lack of confidence in Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and withdrawing support from the government.[67] 18 out of those 19 MLAs were disqualified from office by the Speaker of Legislature upon recommendation from AIADMK Chief Whip. After a prolonged legal battle, the Speaker's orders were upheld by the High Court of Chennai and bye-elections were alongside the Parliament general elections. The election commission of India on 23 November 2017 granted the two leaves symbol to the O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami camp.

On 14 November 2017, AIADMK launched its own news channel News J, named after late AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa replacing Jaya TV.[2][68] on 24 February 2018, AIADMK new mouthpiece Namadhu Amma a Tamil daily was launched marking 70th Birth anniversary of late AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa.[1][69]

Despite the popular measures taken by the government, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the party, in alliance with the BJP again, was humiliated, winning one of the 39 Lok Sabha seats from the state. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), a DMK-led alliance consisting of all the major opposition parties in the state, swept the election by winning 38 seats.

Later, in the 2021 assembly election, the AIADMK contested with the support of the same National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and a few other smaller parties, won 66 seats compared to the DMK's 133 seats and was pushed out of power by the DMK-led secular progressive alliance. After the election, the AIADMK emerged as the main party of the opposition in the assembly. On 11 May 2021, party joint coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami recognized as the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and on 14 June 2021, party coordinator O. Panneerselvam recognized as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by M. Appavu, Speaker of the assembly.

After that V. K. Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran had appealed to the Delhi High Court, who rejected their appeal and said that O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami camp are the original AIADMK.

After that T. T. V. Dhinakaran had also appealed to the Supreme Court of India on March 15, the bench of Chief Justice of India has also rejected his appeal against the judgement made by Delhi High Court in favor of O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami camp.

Following this, the General Council passed a resolution removing V. K. Sasikala from the post of General Secretary. V. K. Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran jointly filed a suit in the High Court challenging the decision of the General Council. Since it was a civil case, the case was transferred to the City Civil Court. During the hearing on April 9, 2021, Dinakaran told the court that he would withdraw from the case as he had started a party called Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam. At the same time, Sasikala told the court that she wanted to continue the case. The court dismissed her plea following an interlocutory application from AIADMK Coordinator O. Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami.[70]

A war of words has raged publicly in June 2022 between AIADMK and BJP.[71] AIADMK organisational secretary C. Ponnaiyan in June 2022, accused the BJP-led Central government of stealing Tamil Nadu's's revenue, as well as blaming AIADMK for election losses, loss of minority community support, and "anti-Tamil" policies, particularly those affecting students.[72] He also called the alliance a "electoral adjustment," claiming that the BJP was attempting to expand at the cost of the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and ideology is diametrically opposite to that of the AIADMK.[73][74] The event reportedly had party cadres reverberating these sentiments, albeit in a lighter tone, and agreeing that the BJP was attempting to wrest control of the state's opposition from the AIADMK.[71]

On 14 June 2022, Citing the party's troubles in the polls, AIADMK district secretaries and other senior party members spoke out to shun the “dual leadership” system and came out publicly in favor of strong unitary leader to strengthen the organisation.

Edappadi K. Palaniswami supporters pushed for the change in the party's leadership structure by staging a political coup against AIADMK Coordinator O. Panneerselvam, who had become weak within the party. According to many sources, of the AIADMK's 75 district secretaries, hardly 10 supported him. Of the party's 66 MLAs, only five MLAs were reportedly on O. Panneerselvam side and less than 20 percent of the party's general council members behind him ahead of crucial general council meeting on 23 June 2022, which was expected to elect the single leadership to the party.[75]

On 23 June 2022, A. Tamil Magan Hussain was unanimously elected as the Presidium Chairman of the party at a general council meeting held at the Shrivaaru Venkatachalapathy Palace in Vanagaram, Chennai.[76][77] On the same day, Presidium Chairman Tamil Magan Hussain announced that the next general council meeting of the party would be held on 11 July 2022.[78][79]

On 30 June 2022, Edappadi K. Palaniswami wrote a letter to O. Panneerselvam asserting the latter ceased to be the party coordinator as the amendments made to the party's bylaw in the 2020 December executive committee meeting were not recognised in the general council meeting held on 23 June 2022.[80][81]

Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Interim General Secretary of the party

On 11 July 2022, AIADMK general council meeting held at the Shrivaaru Venkatachalapathy Palace in Vanagaram following the dismissal of a petition by O. Panneerselvam in the Madras High Court.[82] The party general council abolished the dual leadership model and empowered Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the Interim General Secretary, and called for organisational elections in 4 months.[83] Before the general council meeting there was violence at the Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai in Royapettah, where the supporters of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam threw stones, bottles, plastic chairs at each other and damaged several vehicles nearby.[84] Following this the Revenue Department of Tamil Nadu sealed the Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai, overall 47 people were injured in the clashes.[85]

The general council meeting made 20 amendments to the AIADMK bylaws including the removal of rule 20 which had described J. Jayalalithaa as the "eternal general secretary", reviving the post of General Secretary, transferring all the powers of Coordinator and Joint coordinator to the General Secretary, and abolished the posts of Coordinator and Joint coordinator. These changes in effect ended dual leadership in the party.[86]

In the general council meeting held on 11 July 2022, the general council members passed the resolution and expelled the former coordinator O. Panneerselvam,[87] the former deputy coordinator R. Vaithilingam, P. H. Manoj Pandian and J. C. D. Prabhakar from their respective posts and primary membership of the party for "anti-party" activities.[88][89]

On 11 July 2022, former chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K. Palaniswami was unanimously elected as the Interim General Secretary of the party in the general council meeting held at the Shrivaaru Venkatachalapathy Palace in Vanagaram, Chennai.[15] Palaniswami appointed Dindigul C. Srinivasan as the treasurer of the party replacing O. Panneerselvam.[90] On 19 July 2022, Palaniswami appointed R. B. Udhayakumar as the deputy leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly replacing Panneerselvam which declared in the party's legislative members meeting held on 17 July 2022.[91][92]

On 20 July 2022, The Madras High Court ordered to remove the seal of Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai and handover the keys to the interim general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami.[93] Earlier, It was locked and sealed on 11 July 2022.[94][95] On 12 September 2022, The Supreme Court dismissed the petition of O. Panneerselvam challenging the Madras High Court's order to handover the keys to Palaniswami.[96]

The Madras High Court on 17 August 2022 ruled in favour of O. Panneerselvam and declared the AIADMK general council meeting held on 11 July 2022 which had abolished dual leadership as void ab initio. The court called for the restoration of the status quo as it existed on June 23, and has prevented the party from convening any meet of the executive council or the general council of the party without joint consent from both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, thus effectively restoring dual leadership. The court cited procedural lapses to declare the 11 July general council meeting invalid, and found that there was no data to prove E. Palaniswami's claim that 95% of the 1.5 crore (15 million) primary party members supported unitary leadership under him.[97][98][99][100]

Edappadi K. Palaniswami appealed the single judge court order to a larger bench of judges.[101] Following the order, O. Panneerselvam appealed for party unity, which also included the splinter AMMK group.[102] Palaniswamy dismissed this appeal as a power hungry move by Panneerselvam and held him responsible for violence in the party headquarters.[103]

On 2 September 2022, a division bench of the Madras High Court upheld the decisions of the AIADMK general council meeting held on 11 June 2022 and set aside the previous court order of the single judge in the appeal case of Edappadi K. Palaniswami, thus effectively restoring unitary leadership.[104][16]

Jayalalithaa was also accused of creating a personality cult, with fans and party activists calling her 'Amma' ('mother' in Tamil). Her face adorned food canteens, pharmacies, salt packets, laptop computers, baby care kits, bottled water, medicine shops and cement bags. Following her imprisonment on 27 September 2014, her supporters held protests and wept openly. Her replacement, the party's former minister O. Panneerselvam, also wept during his inauguration, with colleagues saying they were in mourning.[107] Due to the centralized leadership of Jayalalithaa, the state of Tamil Nadu experienced policy paralysis, with most legislators and party cadres protesting against her conviction with hunger fasts, road and rail blockades.[108][109] The entire Cabinet would fall in line and bow in front of the helicopter in which it was flying. Members of the party, at all levels never found it difficult to prostrate before her in full view of the public.[110] Even after her death, the AIADMK leaders continued to prostrate themselves before her burial ground.[111][112]

The overall debt burden of Tamil Nadu is expected to reach more than ₹ 5 lakh crore by March 31, 2022, during the AIADMK government.[113] Under Jayalalithaa and the AIADMK tenure, the State debt as percentage of GSDP was about 5% increase in 2011. It was 16.92% in 2011–12. It was 21.83% as of April 2021 during the Edappadi K. Palaniswami's government.[114] The opposition criticized the financial mismanagement by the AIADMK who left a ₹ 62,000 per head for each person of the state. The opposition criticized that the entire debt of the state government in the 2006–11 DMK regime was only Rs 44,000 crore, but the AIADMK regime has made a debt of ₹ 3.55 lakh crore.[115] The overall debt the AIADMK government left behind as of March 31, 2021 is estimated to be ₹ 4,85,502.54 crore and as on March 31, 2022, it is estimated to be ₹ 5,70,189.29 crore.[116]

Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Ministry
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)	30 June 1977	17 February 1980	10 years, 65 days	6th (1977 election)	Aruppukottai	Ramachandran I
			9 June 1980	9 February 1985		7th (1980 election)	Madurai West	Ramachandran II
			10 February 1985	24 December 1987		8th (1984 election)	Andipatti	Ramachandran III
Acting		V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000)	24 December 1987	7 January 1988	14 days		Athoor	Nedunchezhiyan II
2		V. N. Janaki Ramachandran (1924–1996)	7 January 1988	30 January 1988	23 days		Did not contest	Janaki
3		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	24 June 1991	12 May 1996	14 years, 124 days	10th (1991 election)	Bargur	Jayalalithaa I
			14 May 2001	21 September 2001		12th (2001 election)	Did not contest	Jayalalithaa II
			2 March 2002	12 May 2006			Andipatti	Jayalalithaa III
			16 May 2011	27 September 2014		14th (2011 election)	Srirangam	Jayalalithaa IV
			23 May 2015	22 May 2016			Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar	Jayalalithaa V
			23 May 2016	5 December 2016		15th (2016 election)		Jayalalithaa VI
4		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	21 September 2001	2 March 2002	1 year, 106 days	12th (2001 election)	Periyakulam	Panneerselvam I
			28 September 2014	23 May 2015		14th (2011 election)	Bodinayakanur	Panneerselvam II
			5 December 2016	15 February 2017		15th (2016 election)		Panneerselvam III
5		Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)	16 February 2017	6 May 2021	4 years, 79 days		Edappadi	Palaniswami

Chief Minister of Puducherry

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Ministry
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		S. Ramassamy (1939–2017)	6 March 1974	28 March 1974	1 year, 155 days	4th (1974 election)	Karaikal South	Ramassamy I
			2 July 1977	12 November 1978		5th (1977 election)		Ramassamy II

Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Chief Minister
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	21 August 2017	6 May 2021	3 years, 258 days	15th (2016 election)	Bodinayakanur	Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		Munu Adhi (1926–2005)	6 July 1977	18 June 1980	2 years, 348 days	6th (1977 election)	Tambaram
2		K. Rajaram (1926–2008)	21 June 1980	24 February 1985	4 years, 248 days	7th (1980 election)	Panamarathupatti
3		P. H. Pandian (1945–2020)	27 February 1985	5 February 1989	3 years, 344 days	8th (1984 election)	Cheranmadevi
4		R. Muthiah (1945–2022)	3 July 1991	21 May 1996	4 years, 323 days	10th (1991 election)	Sedapatti
5		K. Kalimuthu (1942–2006)	24 May 2001	1 February 2006	4 years, 253 days	12th (2001 election)	Thirumangalam
6		D. Jayakumar (1960–)	27 May 2011	29 September 2012	1 year, 125 days	14th (2011 election)	Royapuram
7		P. Dhanapal (1951–)	10 October 2012	24 May 2016	8 years, 196 days	Rasipuram
3 June 2016	3 May 2021	15th (2016 election)	Avanashi

Speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		S. Pakkiam (unknown–unknown)	26 March 1974	28 March 1974	2 days	4th (1974 election)	Bussy

Leaders of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	9 February 1989	1 December 1989	5 years, 280 days	9th (1989 election)	Bodinayakanur
			29 May 2006	14 May 2011		13th (2006 election)	Andipatti
2		S. R. Eradha (1934–2020)	1 December 1989	19 January 1991	1 year, 49 days	9th (1989 election)	Madurai East
3		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	19 May 2006	28 May 2006	9 days	13th (2006 election)	Periyakulam
4		Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)	11 May 2021	Incumbent	1 year, 167 days	16th (2021 election)	Edappadi

Leaders of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		P. K. Loganathan (1938–2013)	16 March 1985	4 March 1990	4 years, 353 days	7th (1985 election)	Oupalam
2		V. M. C. V. Ganapathy (1960–)	4 July 1991	13 May 1996	4 years, 314 days	9th (1991 election)	Neravy T. R. Pattinam

Deputy leaders of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term in Office			Assembly (Election)	Constituency	Leader of the Opposition
			Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		Su. Thirunavukkarasar (1949–)	9 February 1989	19 January 1991	1 year, 344 days	9th (1989 election)	Aranthangi	J. Jayalalithaa S. R. Eradha
2		K. A. Sengottaiyan (1948–)	19 May 2006	28 May 2006	9 days	13th (2006 election)	Gobichettipalayam	O. Panneerselvam
3		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	29 May 2006	14 May 2011	6 years, 12 days		Periyakulam	J. Jayalalithaa
			14 June 2021	11 July 2022		16th (2021 election)	Bodinayakanur	Edappadi K. Palaniswami
4		R. B. Udhayakumar (1973–)	19 July 2022	Incumbent	98 days	Thirumangalam