Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party founded 1949, Madras Presidency, India), a former member of the United Progressive Alliance is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam (known as Justice Party till 1944) headed by Periyar. Since 1969, DMK is headed by M Karunanidhi, the prior Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. DMK holds the distinction of being the first party other than the Indian National Congress, another member of the United Progressive Alliance, to win state-level elections with a clear majority on its own in any state in India.