Vijayakant era (2005–23) The party was founded on 14 September 2005, as
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) by the former
leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Vijayakant, a veteran
Tamil film star and popular politician. He assumed the responsibility of the founder-president of the party. Ramu Vasanthan, who was the state president of the fans' forum, took charge as the general secretary of the party. On 17 July 2009, he died of a cardiac arrest. In 2014, the party's founder-president, Vijayakant, took over the position that had previously been vacant. In the
2006 assembly election, the party contested all 234 seats without an alliance and bagged only one seat with 8.38% of the vote, that of its founder-president Vijayakant from
Vriddhachalam constituency, who served as a member of the
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Other candidates of this party who contested in other constituencies in this election failed. In the
2009 general election, it contested 40 seats—39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry—without an alliance and lost in all the constituencies with 0.75% of the vote. Following widespread corruption, a price rise, a power cut, and allegations of nepotism against the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, in the
2011 assembly election, the party, in alliance with parties like the left and former
chief minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa's
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), swept the polls, winning 202 seats, with the DMDK winning 29 out of 40 which it contested, and got the opposition status in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by making it a second largest party in the legislative assembly next only to its ally AIADMK pushing DMK to third position and Vijayakanth recognized as the leader of the opposition in the assembly. The large victory also earned recognition and a permanent election symbol
Nagara from the
Election Commission of India. Vijayakanth stepped down as leader of the opposition on 21 February 2016, after eight DMDK party MLAs resigned. The party's performance began to deteriorate after the
2014 general election; it fought the
Lok Sabha election in an alliance with the
Bharatiya Janata Party-led
National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,
Pattali Makkal Katchi, and
Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and
Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi's
Social Democratic Alliance are the other allies of the National Democratic Alliance in
Tamil Nadu. In the NDA alliance, the party had the highest number of seats, which were 14 in number. Despite the big hype, the party lost all 14 seats to AIADMK candidates. But it was the first time in 52 years that the DMK alliance was pushed to third place by the number of seats, and this election gave confidence to most parties that the future of Tamil Nadu lies in a coalition government. The DMDK decided to run alongside the
People's Welfare Front (PWA) in the
2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, as part of the "Captain Vijayakanth Alliance," which included the
Communist Party of India (Marxist),
Communist Party of India,
Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and
Thol. Thirumavalavan's
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. The DMDK performed poorly in the election, not winning even a single constituency and losing deposits in the majority of its seats. It also witnessed a vote swing of -5.49% from the 2011 assembly elections. In the
2019 general elections, after several rounds of talks with different political parties, The move comes after the DMDK’s attempts to make an alliance with the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has already entered into a pre-poll alliance with the Congress and several others, failed. DMDK contested with the
Bharatiya Janata Party-led
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in
Tamil Nadu for the
17th Lok Sabha polls, along with
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,
Pattali Makkal Katchi,
Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), and some unrecognized parties.
Vijayakanth wants to prove his vote bank strength in this election, but the party was humiliated and lost all four that it contested out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in 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. In the
2021 assembly election, the DMDK, which had the support of the
Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam,
Social Democratic Party of India, and
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, lost 60 seats contested and saw a vote percentage swing of -1.96% compared to previous assembly elections. After the election, the DMK emerged as the ruling party, and the AIADMK emerged as the main party of the opposition in the assembly. On 26 December 2023, Vijayakanth was admitted to
MIOT International Hospital, Chennai, due to pneumonia. After a prolonged illness, he died after testing positive for COVID-19 on 28 December 2023.
Premalatha Vijayakanth era (2023–present) On 14 December 2023, the former
leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Vijayakant, announced and appointed Premalatha Vijayakanth as the general secretary of the party in the presence of the party's deputy secretaries at the General Council Meeting held in
Chennai. Since Vijayakant's demise, the party is being completely led by Premalatha as the general secretary of the party. In the
2024 general election, the DMDK joined the
AIADMK-led Alliance in
Tamil Nadu for the
18th Lok Sabha polls, along with
Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) and the
Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The DMDK was contested in five constituencies, including
Virudhunagar, which was contested by V. Vijaya Prabhakaran, the party's founder
Vijayakant and the general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth's son. The party lost in all the constituencies it contested, and the
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance swept the election in Tamil Nadu. The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) has allied with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. DMDK leader Premalatha Vijayakanth confirmed the decision after meeting Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, saying it fulfilled late founder Vijayakanth’s wish. ==Electoral performance==