Tamil Nadu is voting for 234 assembly seats, with Chief Minister MK Stalin seeking to retain power for the second consecutive time and AIADMK’s Edappadi K Palaniswami fighting to return to the treasury benches after five years. Polling began at 7 AM and will continue till 6 PM across the state.
Actor-politician Vijay has made the contest even more interesting with his debut. He is contesting the polls from two seats — Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur.
The ruling DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which also includes Congress, centred its campaign around the “Dravidian Model” of governance and welfare programmes. It was supported by the Congress and the VCK. The DMK projected the electoral fight as a struggle between Tamil Nadu and Delhi, referring to the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP, which rules at the Centre.
By pitching “Dravidian Model 2.0”, MK Stalin attempted to rake in urban voters among whom the Delhi vs Tamil Nadu narrative finds resonance. He was backed by his most prominent ally, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who sought to brand the AIADMK as a “puppet” of the BJP.
In response, the AIADMK and BJP promised that they would rid the state of the “rule of one family and bring in corruption-free, good governance”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the DMK leadership of fostering a “by the family, of the family, and for the family” culture.
AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has promised better welfare schemes for women, monthly support for families and better travelling facilities. The BJP has promised that it will bring in good law and order and will end crimes against women by streamlined zero-FIR reporting, victim-witness protection, Special Fast-Track Courts for heinous cases, etc.
While the DMK is contesting 164 seats and its allies are fighting it out in 70 constituencies, the AIADMK is contesting from 169 seats and its allies are contesting from 65 seats. Actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is fighting from all the constituencies.
MK Stalin is contesting from Kolathur against TVK’s VS Babu and AIADMK’s P Santhana Krishnan. Deputy Chief Minister and Stalin’s son, Udhyanidhi Stalin, is contesting from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni seat. Edappadi K Palaniswami is contesting from the Edappadi assembly constituency in Salem district.
Over 5.73 crore voters are deciding the electoral fate of 4,023 candidates. Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik has said that the 5.73 crore-strong electorate comprises 2.93 crore women, 2.83 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender voters. About 14 lakh first-time voters have been enrolled. Voting is taking place in 75,064 polling stations situated in 33,133 locations. The Election Commission has deployed 1,06,418 ballot units, 75,064 control units, and VVPAT machines.
In the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, DMK won 133 seats, reducing the AIADMK to 66 seats. The Congress won 19 seats.
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