Trends continued to indicate a clear edge for the DMK combine over the ruling AIADMK front as counting of votes for the April 6 assembly elections got underway on Sunday.
The DMK combine is leading in 111 Assembly constituencies while the AIADMK front is ahead in 94 segments, according to trends provided by the Election Commission for 206 till 11 am.
Victory in 118 of the total 234 constituencies will ensure a simple majority.
A key pointer in the trends available so far is that there is no distinct wave in favour of the DMK and that the AIADMK continued as a force to be reckoned with despite the burden of a 10-year anti-incumbency. Exit polls had projected anywhere between 160 and 190 seats for the DMK front.
Top AIADMK leaders, Chief Minister K Palaniswami was comforably leading in his home segment of Edappadi in Salem district, while Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam is trailing his main rival, DMK's Thanga Tamilselvan, a former party colleague, by a thin margin.
Leader of opposition and DMK president M K Stalin was ahead in Kolathur constituency here and his son and party youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin continued to be ahead in Chepauk-Triplicane segment.
In Coimbatore South, the fight is neck and neck between Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan and Congress party's Mayura Jayakumar while BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan is in third spot currently.
The fortunes of Haasan and Jayakumar kept swinging as votes were taken up for counting from various areas and currently, Haasan is leading.
DMK's key leaders M R K Panneerselvam (Kurinjipadi) and Duraimurugan (Katpadi) were trailing, while AIADMK's expelled leader and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief TTV Dhinakaran was behind his rival, AIADMK leader and Minister Kadambur C Raju in Kovilpatti.
Ministers leading as of now are S P Velumani, Sellur Raju, M C Sampath, M R Vijayabaskar, C Vijayabaskar and Udumalaipettai K Radhakrishnan.
Ministers including D Jayakumar, K Pandiarajan, P Benjamin, K T Rajendthra Bhalaji, Vellamandi N Natarajan and C V Shanmugam were trailing.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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