The DMK-Congress alliance is heading for a big win in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly. The DMK and its allies are leading in 140-plus seats. The ruling AIADMK – which started the day with a lead on 95 seats — is now leading in 80-plus seats. The majority mark stands at 118. The DMK has not been in power in the state for a decade, and this time the party and the AIADMK are contesting without their towering leaders, J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi whose deaths have brought a huge change in the political landscape.
M K Stalin won from Kolathur, his son Udayanidhi Stalin won from Chepauk and Kamal Haasan lost in Coimbatore south.
Mr Stalin, who is set to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time, thanked the people for voting his party to power and assured them that he would truthfully work for them.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday congratulated his ally MK Stalin, whose DMK party seemed all set to win the Tamil Nadu elections, defeating the ruling AIADMK and the BJP.
Mr Stalin expressed his ”heartfelt thanks” to all the people of the state for mandating his party to govern Tamil Nadu for the sixth time. Congratulatory messages from several politicians poured in for the DMK chief.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr Stalin on his victory.
“Congratulations to Thiru MK Stalin and DMK for the victory in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. We shall work together for enhancing national progress, fulfilling regional aspirations and defeating the COVID-19 pandemic,” PM Modi tweeted.
Election 2021 were held in the 234 assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu in a single phase on April 6. The ruling AIADMK contested 191 seats, with 23 given to the PMK and only 20 for the BJP. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) contested 188 and its ally, the Congress, 25, with the rest going to minor allies.
Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam contested 142 seats, with 85 divided between a handful of allies and the AMMK of TTV Dhinakaran, who is the nephew of expelled AIADMK chief Sasikala. The AMMK contested 165 and left 60 to the DMDK, with the rest going to smaller allies.
Nearly 4,000 candidates contested the polls including Chief Minister E Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, DMK President MK Stalin, his son and party youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK’s key rival TTV Dhinakaran and Kamal Haasan.
In the 2016 election, the AIADMK won 134 seats, the DMK got 89, and the Congress eight. Though this was AIADMK’s second straight victory, the party lost its chief J Jayalalithaa months after she occupied the chair for the fifth time.
The opposition DMK, which last ruled between 2006 and 2011, now sees a chance to replace the AIADMK in the state where the two parties have ruled every five years in the recent decades.
