The 2019 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu was held on 18 April 2019 in a single phase as part of the second phase of the 2019 Indian general election to elect the 39 members of the 17th Lok Sabha from the state of Tamil Nadu. Simultaneously, by-elections to 18 constituencies of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly were conducted on the same day, while by-elections in four additional assembly constituencies were held on 19 May 2019. The counting of votes for both the parliamentary election and the assembly by-elections took place on 23 May 2019.
The election resulted in a landslide victory for the alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which won 38 of the state's 39 Lok Sabha seats. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-led alliance secured the remaining seat.
A total of 845 candidates contested the election across the state's 39 parliamentary constituencies. Tamil Nadu had an electorate of 59,123,197 registered voters and 67,664 polling stations. Of the 39 constituencies, 32 were general constituencies and seven were reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes; there were no constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Parties and alliances
United Progressive Alliance
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Indian National Congress renewed their electoral alliance ahead of the 2019 Indian general election, continuing the partnership that had been re-established for the 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election after the two parties had contested the 2014 Indian general election separately. The alliance was based on their shared opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance and cooperation among opposition parties at the national level.
On 20 February 2019, the DMK and the Congress signed a seat-sharing agreement at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai. The agreement was signed by DMK president M. K. Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. S. Alagiri, in the presence of senior leaders from both parties, including K. C. Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Duraimurugan and T. R. Baalu.
Under the agreement, the Congress contested nine of the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the lone Lok Sabha constituency in Puducherry. The allocation of individual constituencies was finalised following consultations with the alliance partners.
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) alliance
The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), led by T. T. V. Dhinakaran, contested the election as the head of an independent alliance. The party entered into a seat-sharing agreement with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), allotting the Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency to its ally while contesting the remaining 38 parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu.
The AMMK announced its candidates in two phases during March 2019. The party fielded a mix of new candidates and former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) legislators, including several MLAs who had been disqualified after supporting Dhinakaran. Among its prominent candidates were former Minister for Special Programme Implementation Thanga Tamilselvan in Theni Lok Sabha constituency, former Minister for Higher Education P. Palaniappan in Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency, former Minister for Law Isakki Subbiah in Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency, former Mayor of Tiruchirappalli Sarubala R. Tondaiman in Tiruchirappalli Lok Sabha constituency, K. David Annadurai, son of former Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly K. Kalimuthu, in Madurai Lok Sabha constituency, former Minister for Agriculture K. Pandurangan in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency, and former MLAs N. Ganapathy, S. K. Selvam and M. Rajasekaran in Viluppuram Lok Sabha constituency, Salem Lok Sabha constituency and Perambalur Lok Sabha constituency, respectively.
The party also re-nominated several disqualified AIADMK MLAs in their respective Assembly constituencies for the simultaneous by-elections.
The AMMK-led alliance failed to win any of the 39 Lok Sabha seats, as the election resulted in a landslide victory for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance.
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) alliance
The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), led by Kamal Haasan, announced in December 2018 that it would contest the 2019 Indian general election and seek alliances with like-minded political parties. Haasan stated that the party would not align with parties that sought to "change Tamil Nadu's DNA", a remark widely interpreted as distancing the party from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party campaigned on issues such as anti-corruption, rural development, federalism and social justice.
On 20 March 2019, the MNM entered into an electoral alliance with the Republican Party of India (RPI). Under the seat-sharing arrangement, the RPI contested one Lok Sabha constituency and three Assembly by-election constituencies on the MNM's Torch Light election symbol.
Although Kamal Haasan had earlier indicated that he was willing to contest the election, he later announced that he would not be a candidate, stating that all MNM candidates represented him. The party contested all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the lone constituency in Puducherry, either directly or through its alliance partner. Its election manifesto promised the creation of 5 million jobs, equal pay for women, free Wi-Fi, abolition of highway tolls, strengthening of the Lokayukta, and electoral reforms, among other measures.
The MNM failed to win any Lok Sabha seats. However, it secured the third-highest vote share in 13 constituencies, particularly in urban and industrial regions such as Chennai Central, Chennai North, Chennai South, Coimbatore, Sriperumbudur and Tiruppur, marking its emergence as a notable third political force in the state.
Voter turnout
Highest turnout in Dharmapuri constituency of 82.41% and the lowest is in Chennai South constituency of 57.07%.