It is a Dravidian party founded by the former leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Vijayakant (Captain) at Madurai on 14 September 2005.

The headquarters of the party is called Captain Aalayam, which is located at Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, Koyambedu, Chennai.

But it was the first time in 52 years that the DMK alliance was pushed to third place by the number of seats, and this election gave confidence to most parties that the future of Tamil Nadu lies in a coalition government.

The DMDK decided to run alongside the People's Welfare Front (PWA) in the 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, as part of the "Captain Vijayakant Alliance,"[7] which included the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and Thol.

DMDK contested with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu for the 17th Lok Sabha polls, along with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Pattali Makkal Katchi, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), and some unrecognized parties.

Vijayakant wants to prove his vote bank strength in this election, but the party was humiliated and lost all four that it contested out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

In the 2024 general election, the DMDK joined the AIADMK-led Alliance in Tamil Nadu for the 18th Lok Sabha polls, along with Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).

The party lost in all the constituencies it contested, and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance swept the election in Tamil Nadu.