Almost six crore voters will be exercising their franchise in Tamil Nadu when the State votes for 38 Parliamentary constituencies and bypolls to 18 Assembly constituencies on Thursday.
It is essentially a fight between the AIADMK-led alliance which includes the BJP, PMK, and DMDK among others, and the Secular Democratic Front (SDF)-led DMK, along with the Congress, VCK, MDMK, and the Left parties.
The Dhinakaran-led AMMK, Naam Thamilar Katchi, and actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan’s MNM are also in the fray.
Here are the live updates:
Voting commences in Perambalur
Polling commenced in Perambalur constituency amid heavy security arrangements put in place at polling stations at other places.
The process started at the scheduled time of 7 am in the polling stations where central para military personnel have been deployed.
Technical glitch in EVMs has been reported in Kamanaickenpalayam and Kaduvetti in Tiruchi district. Engineers are sorting out the problem which has delayed polling.
The constituency accounts for over 13 lakh voters in the six assembly segments of Lalgudi Thuraiyur (reserved) Manachanallur Musiri and Perambalur (reserved).
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Puducherry Chief Minister V.Narayanasmy and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram were among early voters.
While Mr. Palaniswami voted in Salem, Mr. Chidambaram voted in Sivaganga.
Delay in polling in being reported from a few booth in South Chennai constituency.
At booth number 84 and 85 in Royapettah High Road, voters were seen arguing with officials. They were seeking separate lines for senior citizens.
In Palavakkam, polling was delayed due to repair in voting machine.
There was a 20 minute delay to begin voting at St Francis Xavier School polling centre in Little Mount.
Polling was delayed by 40 minutes in polling booths in Taramani as the polling staff were not able to operate VVPAT and booth agents came late.
Actor Ajith and his wife Shalini were among the early voters to exercise their franchise. They voted at a polling booth in Thiruvanmiyur, near Chennai.
Actor Rajinikanth casts his vote at Stella Marys College in Chennai on Thursday. | Photo Credit: R. Raghu
Actor Rajinikanth casts vote at Stella Maris College in Chennai.
The actor, who announced last year that he would start a political party and contest elections, chose to keep low during the Parliamentary Elections. He was among the first voters on Thursday.
He didn't speak to the media.
Booth officials set up EVMs ahead of polling in Triplicane, Chennai, on Thursday. | Photo Credit: S. R. Raghunathan
In Tamil Nadu, polling is being held in 38 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats. Polling in Vellore Lok Sabha seat was cancelled Tuesday by the Election Commission following recovery of huge amount of cash allegedly from an associate of a DMK leader recently.
Polling will begin at 7 a.m. across the State and end at 6 p.m. Those in queue at 6 p.m. will be given tokens by the presiding officer to complete the voting process.
In Madurai Parliamentary constituency alone, polling has been extended till 8 p.m. on account of the Chithirai festival, and those in queue at 8 p.m. will be given tokens to cast their votes.