| Election Name: | Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1996 |
| Country: | India |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1991 |
| Previous Year: | 1991 |
| Next Election: | Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1998 |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
| Election Date: | April–May 1996 |
| Seats For Election: | 39 (of 543) seats in the Lok Sabha |
| Registered: | 42,488,022 |
| Turnout: | 28,438,885 (66.93%) 3.01% |
| Image1: | File:GK_Moopanar_2010_stamp_of_India.jpg |
| Leader1: | G. K. Moopanar |
| Party1: | Tamil Maanila Congress |
| Alliance1: | United Front |
| Leaders Seat1: | Did not contest |
| Seats1: | 39 |
| Seat Change1: | 39 |
| Popular Vote1: | 14,940,474 |
| Percentage1: | 54.96% |
| Swing1: | 30.23% |
| Leader2: | J. Jayalalithaa |
| Leaders Seat2: | Did not contest |
| Party2: | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| Alliance2: | Congress alliance |
| Seats2: | 0 |
| Seat Change2: | 39 |
| Popular Vote2: | 7,095,650 |
| Percentage2: | 26.10% |
| Swing2: | 34.57% |
| Map Size: | 200px |
| Before Party: | Indian National Congress |
| After Party: | United Front (India) |
The 1996 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. The result was a landslide for the newly formed alliance between Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) and its leader G. K. Moopanar, and the left parties who ended up getting all 39 seats. Post election, the newly formed United Front, ended up getting all the seats from Tamil Nadu, since DMK and TMC joined it, with outside support from Indian National Congress (INC). The results in Tamil Nadu is a reflection of the results nationally, where INC, ended up losing the most seats. This election was seen as redemption for Moopanar and TMC, since they left Congress, on grounds that they formed an alliance with AIADMK, even though J. Jayalalithaa, general secretary of AIADMK, was accused of many corruption charges. This led to a disastrous showing, for AIADMK and Congress in Tamil Nadu, since they lost all 39 seats from the last election, and TMC reaping the benefits by getting the most seats, in this election with 20 seats.
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 20 | ||||
| 2. | 17 | ||||
| 3. | 2 | ||||
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 29 | ||||
| 2. | 10 | ||||
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 24 | |||||
| 2. | 8 | |||||
| 3. | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 7 | ||||
| No. | Party | Election Symbol | Leader | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 15 | |||||
| 2. | All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) | 12 | ||||
| Alliance | Party | align=centre | Popular Vote | align=centre | Percentage | align=centre | Swing | align=centre | Seats won | align=centre | Seat Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Front | Tamil Maanila Congress | 7,339,982 | 27.00% | new party | 20 | new party | |||||||
| Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 6,967,679 | 25.63% | 2.94% | 17 | 17 | ||||||||
| Communist Party of India | 632,813 | 2.33% | 0.29% | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Total | 14,940,474 | 54.96% | 30.23% | 39 | 39 | ||||||||
| AIADMK+ | Indian National Congress | 4,965,364 | 18.26% | 24.31% | 0 | 28 | |||||||
| All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 2,130,286 | 7.84% | 10.26% | 0 | 11 | ||||||||
| Total | 7,095,650 | 26.10% | 34.57% | 0 | 39 | ||||||||
| MDMK+ | Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 1,222,415 | 4.50% | new party | 0 | new party | |||||||
| Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 632,813 | 2.33% | 0.29% | 0 | |||||||||
| Janata Dal | 415,287 | 1.53% | 1.38% | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 2,270,515 | 8.36% | 3.41% | 0 | |||||||||
| PMK+ | All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) | 605,565 | 2.23% | new party | 0 | new party | |||||||
| Pattali Makkal Katchi | 552,118 | 2.03% | 3.09% | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 1,157,683 | 4.26% | 0.86% | 0 | |||||||||
| Independents | 815,224 | 3.00% | 1.57% | 0 | |||||||||
| Other Parties (14 parties) | 909,395 | 3.32% | 0.22% | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 27,188,941 | 100.00% | 39 | ||||||||||
| Valid Votes | 27,188,941 | 95.60% | |||||||||||
| Invalid Votes | 1,249,944 | 4.40% | |||||||||||
| Total Votes | 28,438,885 | 100.00% | |||||||||||
| Reigstered Voters/Turnout | 42,488,022 | 66.93% | 3.01% | ||||||||||
Note: TMC(M) is a spliter-group of INC, who carried with them 6 incumbent MPs from previous election
‡: Vote % reflects the percentage of votes the party received compared to the entire electorate that voted in this election. Adjusted (Adj.) Vote %, reflects the average % of votes the party received per constituency that they contested.
Sources: Election Commission of India[1]
Source: Thinkquest Library[2]
| Minister | Party | Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha | Portfolios | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murasoli Maran | Chennai Central | Minister of Commerce and Industry | ||
| G. Venkatraman | Tindivanam | Minister of Surface Transport | ||
| M. Arunachalam | Tenkasi | Minister of Urban Development (few months) Minister of Labour | ||
| P. Chidambaram | Sivaganga | Minister of Finance | ||
| Minister | Party | Lok Sabha Constituency/Rajya Sabha | Portfolios | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T.R. Baalu | Chennai South | Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas | ||
| R. Dhanuskodi Athithan | Tiruchendur | Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports | ||
| N. V. N. Somu | Chennai North | Minister of Defence | ||