“People voted with fervour to see a regime change. DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance will emerge victorious, which was the mood when we toured the State for the election campaign. To prevent DMK’s victory, AIADMK had indulged in widespread distribution of cash to the voters. But it will not impact the people’s verdict,” Balakrishnan told reporters after casting his vote in Chidambaram.

Hitting out at the poll schedule, he said the Election Commission has made the voters wait for almost a month for the results. “If the Tamil Nadu polls were scheduled during the last phase, we would have got results immediately. Soon after polls, the State would have witnessed a regime change. The EC is making us wait unnecessarily. For one month, we have to monitor and protect the EVMs. At least in the next elections, the results must be announced soon,” he added. CPM politburo member G Ramakrishnan predicted that the Assembly election result would be a repeat of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, in which the DMK-led alliance won 38 of the 39 Parliamentary seats. “DMK will get a majority on its own to form the next government. All the allies will win their seats,” he opined.