Stalin vs Palaniswami vs Vijay: Tamil Nadu's most unpredictable election in decades begins today
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Stalin vs Palaniswami vs Vijay: Tamil Nadu's most unpredictable election in decades begins today")
Polling staff at various locations across the constituency as deployment begins ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, covering 2,787 polling booths, in Tiruchirappalli on Wednesday (Apr 22) Photograph: (ANI)
Is Tamil Nadu heading for a three-way political shake-up? Voters across 234 seats will today decide if M K Stalin retains power, Edappadi K Palaniswami returns, or actor Vijay disrupts the race.
Who has the edge?
Scroll down to read more.
Tamil Nadu on Thursday (Apr 23) is set to witness a pivotal electoral battle. For decades, the state has operated as a two-party system, with the DMK and AIADMK periodically trading power. On Thursday, the Southern Indian state would vote across all 234 constituencies, with a third party in the fray. Over 5.67 crore voters will go to the booths from 7 AM to 6 PM to decide whether Chief Minister MK Stalin's DMK extends its rule, whether AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami stages a comeback, or whether actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam hits a political googly.
Over 1 lakh police personnel deployed
According to ANI, 120,000 police personnel and 340,000 government staff have been deployed for the vital elections. Voting will take place at 62 counting centres, with the verdict set to be announced on May 4.
Dravidian Model vs one-family rule
CM Stalin has run a campaign built around the "Dravidian Model" of governance and framed the choice as "Delhi vs Tamil Nadu" to challenge the AIADMK-BJP alliance. With his "Dravidian Model 2.0," he seeks a renewed mandate to advance the state's developmental agenda further. He has the backing of Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, who in recent days has described the AIADMK as "puppets" of the BJP. The DMK is contesting 164 of 234 seats, with Congress taking 28 more in the alliance.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
Palaniswami, meanwhile, is running on a 297-promise manifesto and the argument that only the AIADMK-BJP combine can end what he calls "one-family rule". The dynastic framing has become the alliance's central line of attack, with PM Narendra Modi himself accusing Stalin of grooming his son Udhayanidhi, currently Deputy CM, as his successor. The AIADMK is contesting 169 seats, the BJP 27.
Then there's Vijay. The TVK is contesting every single seat. Vijay himself is standing from two constituencies: Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur.
Key seats
Stalin is contesting from Kolthur, where TVK's VS Babu and AIADMK's candidate are pushing hard. Udhayanidhi is defending Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, a DMK stronghold. Palaniswami is seeking a sixth term from his home constituency of Edappadi in Salem. One notable absence in this polling battle is K Annamalai, the BJP's Tamil Nadu chief, who was widely expected to lead the saffron charge but is not on the candidate list.
In 2021, the DMK won 133 seats, the AIADMK 66. The question is whether those numbers hold, shift, or get blown apart entirely by a man better known for his films than his politics.
