New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin cast his vote in Chennai on Thursday along with his son and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and other family members, as polling for the Assembly elections began under tight security.
Seeking re-election, Stalin is contesting from his stronghold, the Kolathur Assembly constituency. He faces a multi-cornered contest from V.S. Babu of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), P. Santhana Krishnan of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and Soundara Pandian Louther Seth of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK). The contest has taken on a triangular dimension, with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK attempting to make inroads, while the AIADMK seeks to regain lost ground.
Stalin’s electoral performance in Kolathur has remained strong. In the 2021 Assembly elections, he secured 1,05,522 votes votes, accounting for more than 61.4 per cent of the vote share, defeating his nearest rival, AIADMK’s Aadi Rajaram by a margin of 70,384 votes. The constituency recorded a voter turnout of over 64.63 per cent out of 2,68,296 electors.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is contesting from the Chepauk–Triplicane Assembly constituency, where he is up against AIADMK’s Adhi Rajaram, NTK’s Ayisha Begum and TVK’s D. Selvam, making it another closely watched multi-cornered contest.
Former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam also cast his vote along with his family members in Periyakulam. He is contesting from the Bodinayakkanur Assembly constituency and exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Tenkarai following a recent political realignment.
The Bodinayakkanur constituency is witnessing a multi-cornered contest, with candidates from parties including the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam (AMMK), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Puthiya Tamilagam Party, and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), along with several Independent candidates.
According to the Election Commission of India, voter turnout in Tamil Nadu stood at 17.69 per cent as of 9 am. Tiruppur recorded the highest turnout at 20.38 per cent, followed by Erode at 19.55 per cent, while Chennai registered 16.51 per cent.
Polling is being held in a single phase across all 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and will continue until 6:00 pm, with vote counting scheduled for May 4.
The main contest in the state is between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance—which includes the Indian National Congress, DMDK, and VCK—and the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and PMK. While the DMK is banking on its governance and welfare record, the opposition alliance is aiming for a political comeback.
Actor-turned-politician Vijay is making his electoral debut with TVK, adding a new dimension to the electoral battle and potentially turning the contest into a three-way fight in several constituencies.
Polling is also underway in West Bengal as part of the first phase of its Assembly elections.
(DD News)