The Election Commission of India will begin counting votes for Tamil Nadu’s 234 Assembly constituencies on Monday, May 4, opening the day that will settle the state’s tn election results. Postal ballots will be counted from 8 am, and electronic voting machine counting will start at 8.30 am.
The contest is headed into counting with the DMK-Congress alliance led by chief minister MK Stalin trying to hold power, while the AIADMK-BJP camp is aiming to take control of the state. Actor-turned-politician Vijay and his party TVK are also seeking a first showing in the contest.
The majority mark in the 234-member House is 118 seats, and the field is spread across several alliances. The DMK-led alliance is contesting 164 constituencies, including Congress in 28 seats. The AIADMK is contesting 167 seats, BJP 27, Pattali Makkal Katchi 18 and TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK 11.
Exit polls have pointed in different directions, but most have leaned toward the ruling side. People Pulse projected 125 to 145 seats for the DMK-led alliance and 65 to 80 for the AIADMK-BJP combine, with 2 to 6 seats for TVK. Matrize projected 122 to 132 seats for DMK and allies, 80 to 100 for the AIADMK alliance and 0 to 6 for TVK. P-MARQ estimated 125 to 145 seats for the DMK-led bloc, 60 to 70 for the AIADMK-led bloc and 1 to 6 for TVK. Axis My India was the outlier, putting the DMK+ alliance at 92 to 100 seats, the AIADMK+ alliance at 22 to 32 seats and TVK at 98 to 120 seats, while also giving Vijay 37 per cent support as preferred chief minister candidate and Stalin 35 per cent.
Counting will take place across 62 designated centres under a three-tier security system. The Election Commission has deployed 10,545 personnel for counting duty and 4,624 micro-observers to maintain transparency and integrity. A 100-metre perimeter around each centre forms the first layer, State Armed Police will handle entry gates, and Central Armed Police Forces will secure counting halls and EVM strong rooms.
The count covers votes from all 75,064 polling stations and postal ballots received across the state. Tamil Nadu went to the polls in a single phase on April 23 and recorded 84.69 per cent turnout, the highest since Independence for the state and well above the previous best of 78.29 per cent in 2011. The electorate included more than 5.73 crore voters, among them 2,93,04,905 women, 2,80,30,658 men and 7,728 third-gender voters.
The numbers now being opened will settle whether Stalin’s alliance keeps the state or whether the AIADMK-BJP bloc turns the result. The other question is how far Vijay’s TVK can go in its debut, and the first official figures from counting will answer that by late morning.