1980 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu

Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1980

← 1977 January 1980 1984 →
39 (of 542) seats to the Lok Sabha
Registered	28,113,893
Turnout	66.76% 0.37%
First party Second party   Leader M. Karunanidhi M. G. Ramachandran Party DMK AIADMK Alliance Congress Alliance Janata alliance+LF Leader's seat Did not contest Did not contest Seats won 37 2 Seat change 21 21 Popular vote 10,290,515 7,392,655 Percentage 55.89% 40.14% Swing 15.01% 13.73%
1980 Election map (by constituencies) Green = INC(I)+ and Blue = JP+

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^[1] 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.

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

No.	Party		Election Symbol	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

Alliance		Party		Popular Vote	Percentage	Swing	Seats won	Seat Change
	DMK+		Indian National Congress (Indira)	5,821,411	31.62%	9.35%	20	6
			Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	4,236,537	23.01%	4.40%	16	14
			Independent	232,567	1.26%		1
			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
			Janata Party	1,465,782	7.96%	9.71%	0	3
			Communist Party of India	660,940	3.59%	1.01%	0	3
			Communist Party of India (Marxist)	591,869	3.21%	1.65%	0
			Total	7,392,655	40.14%	13.73%	2	21
	Janata Party (Secular)			98,729	0.54%	new party	0	new party
	Indian National Congress (Urs)			41,671	0.23%	new party	0	new party
	Republican Party of India			9,497	0.05%	0.03%	0
	Independents			579,677	3.15%	2.07%	0
Total				18,412,744	100.00%		39
Valid Votes				18,412,744	98.11%
Invalid Votes				355,074	1.89%
Total Votes				18,767,818	100.00%
Registered Voters/Turnout				28,113,893	66.76%	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

• Elections in Tamil Nadu

Volume I, 1980 Indian general election, 7th Lok Sabha

• Website of Election Commission of India
• CNN-IBN Lok Sabha Election History