TN polls: Voters flock to booths toseal fate of 4000-odd candidates

PTI, April 23, 2026, Chennai:  Voters flocked to over 75,000 polling booths across Tamil Nadu on Thursday to elect a member of their choice for the state Assembly in a triangular fight involving the ruling DMK, AIADMK and actor-politician Vijay's TVK, which is making serious attempts at denting the votebank of the established Dravidian majors.

The key contenders for power are the ruling DMK and main Opposition AIADMK, while actor-politician Vijay-led TVK and Tamil nationalist Seeman-led NTK are putting up a determined fight.

Top leaders and celebrities arrived early at booths in Chennai, Salem, Coimbatore and Madurai, among other cities, to cast their votes, as the polling began at 7 am after EC officials successfully conducted mock polling.

Till 11 am, 37.56 per cent of the 5.73 crore strong electorate cast their votes, with young and old enthusiastically turning up at the polling stations to perform their democratic duty.

Both DMK president M K Stalin and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, who lead the SPA and NDA, respectively, exuded confidence of winning the elections, one of the hardest fought ones.

The Chief Minister, who cast his vote along with his wife Durga and son and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi at the SIET College polling station here, said: "Tamil Nadu will win."

Apparently, he was referring to his often-repeated remark of the present poll battle being a "contest between the Tamil Nadu team and Delhi team."

"I have cast my vote. Similarly, all the people of Tamil Nadu must perform their democratic duty without fail," he said.

Stalin added with his raised fist, "Tamil Nadu will win."

In Salem, Palaniswami exuded confidence that his party would return to power.

Speaking to reporters after exercising his franchise in Siluvampalayam in the district, the AIADMK general secretary said people should turn up in large numbers and fulfil their democratic obligation today.

Stalin (Chennai), Palaniswami, veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram, former Telangana Governor and BJP candidate Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, and NTK top leader Seeman were among the early voters, and they cast their votes in Salem, Sivaganga and Chennai, respectively.

Actors Rajinikanth and Ajith Kumar cast their votes in the city.

Also, actor-politician and TVK founder Vijay cast his vote at a private school here.

Union Minister L Murugan stood in a serpentine queue and cast his vote in Chennai.

Similarly, BJP leader Kushboo, along with her filmmaker husband Sundar C, voted in the city.

The fortunes of 4,023 candidates will be decided in 75,064 polling stations in 33,133 locations.