Puthiya Tamilagam
The Puthiya Tamilagam is an Indian regional political party in Tamil Nadu. It was founded by the former member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly K. Krishnasamy on 15 December 1997.
Elections
1998 Indian General Election
Post the formation of the party in the end of 1997, the general assembly of the party decided to contest the 1998 Indian general election without any alliance. The party contested in 15 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, namely:Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Sivakasi, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Periyakulam, Dindigul, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Pollachi, Tiruchengode, Rasipuram and Chennai Central constituencies. The party lost in all the constituencies which it contested.
- The party candidates such as K. Krishnasamy and Sathyamoorthy polled more than a 100,000 votes in Tenkasi and Sivakasi constituencies respectively.
- The party also polled more than a 50,000 votes in Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli constituencies respectively.
- The party polled more than 20,000 votes in Periyakulam and Dindigul constituencies respectively.
1999 Indian General Election
The party joined the Tamil Maanila Congress alliance for the 1999 Indian general election. The alliance comprised parties such as Janata Dal, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Indian Union Muslim League and Kamaraj Aadhithanar Kazhagam. The party contested in ten constituencies with the "Bullock Cart" symbol allocated to it. K.Krishnasamy polled 186,220 votes in the Tenkasi constituency. The contest was won by S. Murugesan of AIADMK.2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election
For the 2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, the party joined the Democratic Progressive Alliance comprising Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Bharatiya Janata Party, and a few caste based parties. The party contested in 10 seats and was allocated the lock symbol.2004 Indian General Election
For the 2004 Indian general election, the party joined the People's Alliance comprising Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi, Janata Dal (United), Indian National League and Puratchi Council. The party was allocated two seats to contest in "Arrow" symbol. Party President K. Krishnasamy polled 101,122 votes in the Tenkasi constituency and Dheepa Valentina polled 27,130 votes in the Sivakasi constituency.2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election
The party made an alliance pact with Bahujan Samaj Party and contested 53 seats in "Elephant" symbol.The party also decided to contest in a few unreserved constituencies. K. Krishnasamy polled 29,271 votes in the Ottapidaram constituency. The winning margin between All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was only 9,444 votes.