The 1977 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state.

The result was a big victory for Indian National Congress under Indira Gandhi and its allies All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India winning 34 seats, while Janata Party and its allies Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Indian National Congress (Organisation) won only 5 seats.

After the election, the AIADMK ended up supporting the Janata Party under Morarji Desai.

In 1979, AIADMK continued to support Janata Party, by supporting Charan Singh, which resulted in the appointment of two AIADMK cabinet members.

While there were no members from Tamil Nadu in Morarji Desai's Administration, Charan Singh appointed two AIADMK members to his cabinet, making it the first time a non-Congress Dravidian Party member making it to the council of ministers at the national level.