Voting is taking place on 75,064 polling stations situated in 33,133 locations.
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu is voting today for the assembly elections, with the high-stakes contest pitting the DMK alliance against the AIADMK-led NDA. MK Stalin, whose campaign centred around the "Dravidian Model" of governance, is seeking to retain power.
Here are 10 points on the Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2026:
- Tamil Nadu is voting for 234 assembly seats, with Chief Minister MK Stalin seeking to retain power for the second consecutive time and AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami fighting to return to the treasury benches after five years. Polling began at 7 AM and will continue till 6 PM across the state. The state has over 5 crore registered voters, including 2.93 crore women, 2.83 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender voters. About 14 lakh first-time voters have also been enrolled.
- Actor-politician Vijay has made the contest even more interesting with his debut. He is contesting the polls from two seats -- Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur.
- The ruling DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which also includes Congress, centred its campaign around the "Dravidian Model" of governance and welfare programmes. It was supported by the Congress and the VCK. The DMK projected the electoral fight as a struggle between Tamil Nadu and Delhi, referring to the AIADMK's alliance with the BJP, which rules at the Centre.
- By pitching "Dravidian Model 2.0", MK Stalin attempted to rake in urban voters among whom the Delhi vs Tamil Nadu narrative finds resonance. He was backed by his most prominent ally, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who sought to brand the AIADMK as a "puppet" of the BJP.
- In response, the AIADMK and BJP promised that they would rid the state of the "rule of one family and bring in corruption-free, good governance". Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the DMK leadership of fostering a "by the family, of the family, and for the family" culture.
- AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has promised better welfare schemes for women, monthly support for families and better travelling facilities. The BJP has promised that it will bring in good law and order and will end crimes against women by streamlined zero-FIR reporting, victim-witness protection, Special Fast-Track Courts for heinous cases, etc.
- While the DMK is contesting 164 seats and its allies are fighting it out in 70 constituencies, the AIADMK is contesting from 169 seats and its allies are contesting from 65 seats. Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is fighting from all the constituencies.
- MK Stalin is contesting from Kolathur against TVK's VS Babu and AIADMK's P Santhana Krishnan. Deputy Chief Minister and Stalin's son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, is contesting from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni seat. Edappadi K Palaniswami is contesting from the Edappadi assembly constituency in Salem district.
- In the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, DMK won 133 seats, reducing the AIADMK to 66 seats. The Congress won 19 seats.
- West Bengal is also voting in the first phase of the assembly elections, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress seeking a fourth straight term and the BJP trying to secure maiden victory.
