Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi
Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi (People's Tamil Land Party, in Tamil: மக்கள் தமிழ் தேசம் கட்சி), generally just called Makkal Tamil Desam (MTD) is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[1] MTD was founded on 22 August 2000. MTD has its base amongst the Yadava (Konar) (Ietaiyar) (Ietaiyan) caste in the north and southern parts of the state.
The Tamil Nadu Yadava Mahasabai supported the formation of the party. The party leader is S. Kannappan, a former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) minister. Kannappan had been expelled from AIADMK before the foundation of MTD.
Ahead of the 2001 Tamil Nadu assembly elections MTD joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
On 6 May 2002, the Puducherry unit of MTD broke away and joined Indian National Congress.
In the 2004 MTD took part in the People's Alliance, the third front in Tamil Nadu together with Janata Dal (United), Puthiya Tamizhagam and the Dalit Panthers of India. This front was basically formed by groups who were dissatisfied that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had put NDA aside in Tamil Nadu and instead had launched a pure BJP-AIADMK front in the elections. MTD contested under the JD(U) symbol.
Three of its candidates last contested the elections in Tamil Nadu in the April 2024 Lok Sabha elections and all three lost.[2][3] They are active is some districts and in November 2025, they held a protest in Tirunelveli demanding a stop to the alleged serial killings taking place in the district.[4]
References
- ^ "Puthiya Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi: - Check Puthiya Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi Overall Performance in Elections". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "G Selvaraj , Puthiya Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi candidate bio : Assets , Total Income , Liabilities , Criminal Cases and other details". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "Perumalkumar P, Puthiya Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi Representative for Thoothukkudi, Tamil Nadu - Candidate Overview | 2024 Lok Sabha Elections". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ தினத்தந்தி (19 August 2023). "புதிய மக்கள் தமிழ் தேசம் கட்சியினர் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்". www.dailythanthi.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 12 November 2025.