Pattali Makkal Katchi

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Pattali Makkal Katchi (பாட்டாளி மக்கள் கட்சி, abbreviated PMK), a Tamil political party. PMK participated in the National Democratic Alliance until December 2003, and was thus part of the Indian central government 1999-2003. After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections PMK joined United Progressive Alliance.

The PMK founder president is Dr. S. Ramdoss. Ramdoss had earlier worked intensively with the Vanniyar Sangham (Vanniyar Union). PMK is based amongst the Vanniar caste, an OBC community. PMK has advocated the bifurcation of the state of Tamil Nadu, a proposal that was seen as a casteist line. PMK is mainly based in the northern half of the state. PMK is strongly favouring caste-based reservations in education and jobs, which, as its critics argue, expose the party's indifference to the danger inherent in its ideology, to the principle of strong and viable states to make a powerful Federation of India. The casteist thinking, it needs to be pointed out, derives a sort of approval as it is shared by some other parties in Tamilnadu and elsewhere in India. It is resented on the ground that the talk of Brahmin, Aryan, or Upper caste domination in the Indian society, will in due course stand badly exposed. A powerful India can only become a reality on the basis of inclusiveness of all sections of people, but only on the basis of individuals' performance, regardless of their caste labels, being maximized for the optimal benefit of the Indian society. Thus the critics fear that the widespread fashion of pro-casteism in India, when castes as a whole are sought to be done away with as a legal entity, smacks of the mischief being done by parties, like the PMK, in order to garner sectional power to the detriment of a powerful India.

Ahead of the 2004 election PMK joined the broad Tamil political front Democratic Progressive Alliance where also Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian Union Muslim League are members.

After the formation of PMK, Under the leadership of Ramadoss, PMK, because of coalition pressures, could manage to get significant share of power both in the regional government in Tamilnadu and the central government. Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, the son of S. Ramadoss, is currently the Health Minister in the Government of India.

Contents 1 Election history 1.1 Tamil Nadu 1.2 Pondicherry 2 External link

[edit] Election history

[edit] Tamil Nadu

Year	General Election	Votes Polled	Seats Won
1989	9th Lok Sabha	1,536,350	0
1991	10th Assembly	1,452,982	1
1991	10th Lok Sabha	1,269,690	0
1996	11th Assembly	1,042,333	4
1996	11th Lok Sabha	552,118	0
1998	12th Lok Sabha	1,548,976	4
1999	13th Lok Sabha	2,236,821	5
2001	12th Assembly	1,557,500	20
2004	14th Lok Sabha	1,927,367	5
2006	13th Assembly		18

[edit] Pondicherry

Year	General Election	Votes Polled	Seats Won
1989	9th Lok Sabha	25,021	0
1991	8th Assembly	11,402	0
1991	10th Lok Sabha	13,375	0
1996	9th Assembly	11,544	1
1996	11th Lok Sabha	19,792	0
1999	13th Lok Sabha	140,920	0
2001	10th Assembly	36,788	0
2004	14th Lok Sabha	241,653	1
2006	11th Assembly	23426272	2

[edit] External link

• EC report on elections