Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) is a political party in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. The party's vote base is mainly concentrated in western districts of Tamil Nadu. It was a splinter party of

Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) is a caste based political party representing the Kongu Vellala Gounders, a backward caste in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The party's vote base is mainly concentrated in the Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu. ...

(KMK) The party has one Member of Parliament from

Namakkal (Lok Sabha constituency) Namakkal is a Lok Sabha Constituency in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu ...

and his name is A. K. P. Chinraj. and One Member of TamilNadu Legislative assembly, E.R.Easwaran (2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative assembly election). The party has 4 district councilors and 10 union councilors

History

On 21 March 2013, E. R. Eswaran launched a new Political Party, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK), from KMK after differences arose between him and KMK party president 'Best' Ramasamy. He also became the general secretary of KMDK. He contested the May 2009 Loksabha elections as a KMK candidate in the Coimbatore constituency and came third, securing 1.28 lakh votes. He also came third in the 2009 by election for Thondamuthur Assembly Constituency. KMDK is considered as a

Gounder Gounder is a title used by various communities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It may refer to communities such as the , Kongu Vellalars , Kurumbas, Tuluva Vellalars, Uralis, Vanniyars, Vettuvars and Vokkaligas. Etymology There are number ...

based caste outfit with presence in western districts of

Tamilnadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...

i.e. Kongu Region.

2021 Tamil Nadu State elections

In 2021 elections, the party contested in Secular Progressive Alliance in 3 constituencies Kongu Nadu Region (Thiruchengode, Perundurai and Sulur constituencies). KMDK general seceretary E.R.Easwaran won in Thriuchengode securing 81,688 votes (44.23%). The other two seats were lost

2019 Lok Sabha election

The party has contested the 2019

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

elections as part of

United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

led by the DMK in Tamil Nadu. KMDK got

Namakkal Namakkal () is a special grade municipality and the headquarters of Namakkal district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the first ISO 14001-2004 certified municipality in Asia for environmental management, specifically the provision ...

Lok Sabha Constituency

, a constituency known for concentrated

population. KMDK had fielded AKP Chinnaraj, the President of Tamilnadu Poultry Farmers Association in DMK's Rising Sun symbol. The KMDK Candidate Won By a big margin (55.24%) in 2019 elections as the result announced and the party men celebrated their first ever electoral win since the launch of the party in Namakkal. Also KMDK is considered to be played a pivotal role for the win of DMK in Kongu region which has been known as ADMK fort

2016 Tamil Nadu State elections

In 2016 elections, the party contested alone in 72 constituencies predominantly in Kongu Nadu Region (Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Erode, Tiruppur, Dindugal, Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts of Tamilnadu). KMDK lost in all 72 Assembly seats contested but polled 1. 70 Lakh votes.

2014 Lok Sabha election

The party contested the 2014 Lok Sabha alliance as a part of National Democratic Alliance led by the

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

. Party General Secretary E. R. Eswaran contested in Pollachi Lok Sabha, the lone seat allotted for the party from the alliance and finished second with 276,118 votes.

References