| Election Name: | Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1977 |
| Country: | India |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1971 |
| Previous Year: | 1971 |
| Next Election: | Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1980 |
| Next Year: | 1980 |
| Election Date: | 16–20 March 1977[1] |
| Seats For Election: | 39 (of 542) seats in the Lok Sabha |
| Registered: | 27,187,417 |
| Turnout: | 18,252,182 (67.13%) 4.69% |
| Party1: | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| Alliance1: | Congress Front |
| Leaders Seat1: | Did not contest |
| Seats1: | 34 |
| Seat Change1: | 21 |
| Popular Vote1: | 10,164,615 |
| Percentage1: | 56.91% |
| Swing1: | 38.97% |
| Leaders Seat2: | Did not contest |
| Party2: | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| Alliance2: | Janata alliance |
| Seats2: | 5 |
| Seat Change2: | 19 |
| Popular Vote2: | 6,479,436 |
| Percentage2: | 36.28% |
| Swing2: | 29.40% |
| Map Size: | 200px |
| Before Election: | Indian National Congress |
| After Party: | Janata Party |
The 1977 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. The result was a big victory for Indian National Congress under Indira Gandhi and its allies All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India winning 34 seats, while Janata Party and its allies Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Indian National Congress (Organisation) won only 5 seats. The Janata Party ended up winning this election. After the election, the AIADMK ended up supporting the Janata Party under Morarji Desai. In 1979, AIADMK continued to support Janata Party, by supporting Charan Singh, which resulted in the appointment of two AIADMK cabinet members.
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 20 | ||||
| 2. | Indian National Congress (R) | Indira Gandhi | 15 | ||
| 3. | Tha. Pandian | 3 | |||
| 4. | K. M. Kader Mohideen | 1 | |||
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 19 | |||||
| 2. | Indian National Congress (Organization) | P. Ramachandran | 18 | |||
| 3. | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | G. Ramakrishnan | 2 | |||
| Alliance | Party | align=centre | Popular Vote | align=centre | Percentage | align=centre | Swing | align=centre | Seats won | align=centre | Seat Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIADMK+ | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 5,365,076 | 30.04% | new party | 17 | new party | |||||||
| Indian National Congress | 3,977,306 | 22.27% | 9.76% | 14 | 5 | ||||||||
| Communist Party of India | 822,233 | 4.60% | 0.83% | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
| Total | 10,164,615 | 56.91% | 38.97% | 34 | 21 | ||||||||
| DMK+ | Indian National Congress (Organisation) | 3,156,116 | 17.67% | 12.76% | 3 | 2 | |||||||
| Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 3,323,320 | 18.61% | 16.64% | 2 | 21 | ||||||||
| Total | 6,479,436 | 36.28% | 29.40% | 5 | 19 | ||||||||
| Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 279,081 | 1.56% | 0.08% | 0 | |||||||||
| Republican Party of India | 3,809 | 0.02% | 0 | ||||||||||
| Independents | 932,966 | 5.22% | 3.06% | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 17,859,907 | 100.00% | 39 | ||||||||||
| Valid Votes | 17,859,907 | 97.85% | |||||||||||
| Invalid Votes | 392,275 | 2.15% | |||||||||||
| Total Votes | 18,252,182 | 100.00% | |||||||||||
| Reigstered Voters/Turnout | 27,187,417 | 67.13% | 4.69% | ||||||||||
While there were no members from Tamil Nadu in Morarji Desai's Administration, Charan Singh appointed two AIADMK members to his cabinet, making it the first time a non-Congress Dravidian Party member making it to the council of ministers at the national level.
| Minister | Party | Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha | Portfolios |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIADMK | Pondicherry | ||
| AIADMK | Rajya Sabha | ||