The Deputy leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is an elected member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly who serves as the legislative leader for the largest political party in the assembly that is not part of the government, provided that this political party holds at least ten percent of the seats in the assembly.
, there have been 19 leaders of the opposition from six different political parties and an independent. T. Nagi Reddy of the Communist Party of India became the first leader of opposition in the 1st Madras State Assembly. P. G. Karuthiruman of the Indian National Congress was the leader of opposition, when the state was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969, and thus became the first leader of opposition of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
The longest-serving leader of the opposition is J. Jayalalithaa from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), who has been the only female to hold the position. She held the office for five years and 280 days, followed by M. Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), who held the office for five years and 259 days. O. Panneerselvam of the AIADMK had the shortest reign, holding the position for nine days. The position was left vacant on two occasions as no political party secured the required proportion of seats in the assembly.
The current incumbent is Udhayanidhi Stalin of the DMK since 11 May 2026.
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