Tamil Nadu Elections 2021 LIVE updates: Polling concludes; final voter turnout at 72.15%

Voter turnout at 72.15% as per EC's turnout app

Voter turnout at 81.67% as per EC's Turnout app

Voter turnout as of 5:41 PM is 77.90% as per turnout app

Tension prevailed at Kallar School, Melatherru in Annaji, Theni as the voters refused to cast their votes polling booth located in Scheduled Caste area and staged a protest

AIADMK claims that DMK is involved in fake votes, so AIADMK supporters are protesting in Krishnagiri

Voter turnout as of 5:41 PM is 64.07% as per turnout app

BJP claims a few thousands voters' names are missing in the Sowcarpet Area of the Harbour Constituency. With voters demanding that they have a valid voter ID, BJP candidate Vinoj has said, "This incident of mass deletion of the names from the list is very serious and depriving the genuine voters from exercising their democratic rights. The voters are very much annoyed and angry about their names removed from the voters list."

In an instance of poll violence, Tamil Nadu Deputy CM O Paneerselvam's son - AIADMK MP OP Ravindhranath Kumar's car was allegedly attacked by DMK cadres when he visited his father's constituency on Tuesday. The Theni MP claims that his car was attacked by DMK cadres who were allegedly drunk when he went to meet party workers in Bodinayakkanur. Visuals from the site show his car's front window cracked. Currently, all 234 constituencies of Tamil Nadu are polling in a single phase, with results to be declared on May 2.

Talking to Republic TV, OP Ravindhranath Kumar said, "I went to meet my party workers. DMK people came and attacked me at that time. They were drunk. Investigation is going on".

A complaint has been filed against Udhayanidhi Stalin for wearing DMK pin while going to cast vote  stating model code violation

Voter turnout as of 3:20 PM is 50.11% as per turnout app

Voter turnout at 3:20 PM is 63.49% in the Union territory as per turnout App

42.68% voter turnout has been recorded so far until 3.02 pm as per EC approximations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. 

Even as polling was underway in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, DMK candidate from Coimbatore's Thondamuthur constituency Karthikeya Shivasenapathy lodged a complaint alleging that his car was attacked by AIADMK, BJP cadres while going for rounds. DMK candidate Karthikeya Sivasenapathy has lodged a complaint with District Collector Nagarajan.  

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president Kamal Haasan lodged a complaint with the Returning Officer (RO) accusing parties of distributing tokens that could allegedly be exchanged for money after the elections to the people of Kempatti colony. 

40.86% voter turnout has been recorded thus far until 1.35 pm as per ECI approximations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. 

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) accusing BJP candidate  Khushbu Sundar of violating the Moral Code of Conduct after she visited a polling booth with her party flag hoisted on her car as polling was underway for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

22.92% voter turnout has been recorded so far until 12.10 pm as per ECI approximations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. 

16.43% voter turnout has been recorded so far until 11.20 am as per EC approximations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. 

0.72% voter turnout has been recorded so far until 9.20 am according to EC approximations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. 

Tamil Nadu polls were set apart by the medley of alliances and the freebies offered in the manifestos. The two warring factions in AIADMK - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS), reconciled after the party named incumbent E Palaniswamy as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee, announcing their alliance with BJP and PMK to counter a resurgent DMK and its allies Congress, MDMK, Left parties, IUML. The two major Dravidian parties are also being challenged by MNM-AAP, AMMK-AIMIM-SDPI and other smaller parties.

Ahead of the polls, CM EPS withdrew cases against Jallikattu protestors,  anti-CAA protestors, COVID lockdown violators and Kudankulam nuclear power plant protestors. Apart from taking back so many cases, EPS waived off cooperative farm loans of 12,110 crores availed by 16.43 lakh farmers, issued a 'Pongal gift hamper' for all 2.06 crore ration-card holders, free COVID-19 vaccines, passing school students, offering Rs 1500 monthly allowance to home-makers etc which has been slammed by DMK M K Stalin calling it 'pre-poll appeasement'. In its manifesto, AIADMK has announces several populist sops- free home appliances like washing machine and solar stoves, one govt job per home, dual citizenship for Sri Lankan refugees, urging Centre to repeal CAA etc. Apart from these schemes, AIADMK co-convener and incumbent CM E Palaniswami announced the continuation of Pongal gift hamper, release the Rajiv Gandhi convicts, 12-month maternity leave, mid-day meal scheme extension, 6 cylinders free per year. 

DMK has released its manifesto promising national recognition to Thiruvalluvar's Tirukurral,  75% quota to Tamilians in jobs, 500 Kalaignar Unavagam (canteens), increase women representation from 30 to 40%, slash petrol and diesel rates, ban NEET exams,  waive education loans of students below 30 years of age, punishing Jayalalitha's killers - to name a few. EPS faces ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin who eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats.

Edappadi: Incumbent CM E Palaniswami's homeground is an assured win for EPS as he has won Edappadi in Salem district in 1989,1991, 2011 and 2016. In 1998, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Tiruchengodu district. Hailing from the influential Gounder community, EPS holds major sway in Edappadi winning almost 85% of the votes in the district. WIth his recent decision to ensure a sub-caste reservation for the Vanniyars within the Most Backward Classes (MBC) category to appease ally PMK and the myriad of sops in its manifesto, EPS is bound to trounce 37-year-old local DMK leader T Sampath Kumar.

Bodinayakkanur: Facing a tough re-election, Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) will face off DMK’s Thanga Tamilselvan in his constituency. Inspite of holding Bodinayakkanur from Theni district since 2011, OPS will face a tough poll battle as he is pitted against Tamilselvan who was once a trusted aide of Jayalalithaa. Moreover, OPS who had rebelled against Sasikala's choice EPS as the CM candidate, is widely being seen as not able to hold his seat. The two-time CM and AIADMK co-convener has since then buried his hatchet with EPS, often jointly campaigning with him across the state.

Kolathur: The DMK scion who has been patiently waiting to win the top post will contest from his incumbent constituency - Kolathur in Chennai. Being the Mayor of Chennai and later on the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu under his father M Karunanidhi, Stalin will look to trounce AIADMK's Aadhi Rajaram who has already lost to him at Thousand Lights in 2001. Buoyed by his extensive campaign, persistent social media campaign, his catchy poll song 'Stalin thaan vararu' and his vow to solve all issues within 100 days of being voted to power, the DMK supremo is set for a landslide victory in the capital.

Chepauk-Thiruvellikeni: Fielding DMK Youth wing secretary and Stalin's son Udhayanidhi from his grandfather MK Karunanidhi's old constituency, DMK is assured of a victory in this Chennai district. Held by Karunanidhi from 1996- 2011 and J. Anbazhagan since then, Udhayanidhi is assured to triumph AIADMK ally PMK's AVA Kasali. Udhayanidhi has gained infamy throughout his extensive campaign across Tamil Nadu with his controversial remarks such as 'EPS falling on Sasikala's feet', 'Modi's torture killed Sushma Swaraj & Arun Jaitley',  asking if Amit Shah will write his son - Jay Shah's properties in his name while commenting on I-T raids at his sister's house. 

Kovilpatti: The surprise factor in this election - VK Sasikala's nephew and AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran who has vowed to 'revive Amma's golden rule', faces AIADMK veteran and cabinet member K Raju and CPI(M)'s K Srinivasan. While Dhinakaran had sprung a surprise winning late CM J Jayalalitha's constituency -Radhakrishnan in 2017 as an independent candidate, he will face a tough battle in Kovilpatti. As Dhinakaran had pinned his hopes on wooing AIADMK's votes using his aunt VK Sasikala, he received a rude shock when she suddenly 'quit' politics. By allying with DMDK and AIMIM, Dhinakaran eyes now to dent DMK's minority vote share which has fielded ally CPI's K Srinivasan. Interestingly, while AIADMK has held Kovilpatti since 2006, CPI has won this constituency 7 times.

Bodinayakkanur: Facing a tough re-election, Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) will face off DMK’s Thanga Tamilselvan in his constituency. Inspite of holding Bodinayakkanur from Theni district since 2011, OPS will face a tough poll battle as he is pitted against Tamilselvan who was once a trusted aide of Jayalalithaa. Moreover, OPS who had rebelled against Sasikala's choice EPS as the CM candidate, is widely being seen as not able to hold his seat. The two-time CM and AIADMK co-convener has since then buried his hatchet with EPS, often jointly campaigning with him across the state.

Dharapuram: Buoyed by the success of his 'Vetrivel yatra' to "expose" the Karuppar Kootam that "denigrated" Kanda Sasti Kavacham in praise of Lord Muruga and the DMK "which lent support" to the group, BJP state chief L Murugan seeks to win Dharapuram in Erode. While Murugan hails from Namakkal, he faces DMK's Kayalvizhi, MNM's Charli A and AMMIK Kalarani. In 2011 election, K Ponnusamy of AIADMK had won the Dharapuram seat by a margin of 15,025 votes, while Congress' VS Kalimuthu trounced him in 2016.

Aravakurichi: Fielding 'Singham of Karnataka' IPS officer-turned-neta K Annamalai, the saffron party is counting on his clean image and tough police action in Chikkamangaluru to tackle DMK's Elango. Annamalai has recently attracted an FIR for threatening to 'beat up' DMK's Karur candidate - Senthil Balaji - who is the sitting Aravakuruchi MLA and recently switched from AIADMK to DMK.  Annamalai - the former Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru South) who had quit IPS at the age of 35 in 2019 - joined the BJP in August.

Coimbatore South: In a rare four-way battle, Superstar and MNM founder Kamal Haasan faces BJP's  Vanathi Sreenivasan, AMMK's R Doraisamy and Congress' Mayura S Jayakumar. While Coimbatore South is an AIADMK bastion, AMMK's R Doraisamy who had won the seat in 2011 on an AIADMK ticket is set to give the superstar a tough battle. Banking on MNM vice president R Mahendran's good Lok Sabha performance in Coimbatore South, Kamal Haasan is seeking to woo the largely urban, upper-caste voters in the town.

Thousand Lights: DMK-turned-Congress-turned-BJP leader Khushbu Sundar has her work cut out facing popular DMK leader Dr Ezhilan, who was M Karunanidhi's physician. This Chennai-based constituency has been held by DMK President M K Stalin four times, before he shifted to Kolathur. With a sizeable Muslim population, Khushbu Sundar may be able to woo them inspite of her saffron party ticket, yet the advantage is with DMK.

The  Puducherry government faced a crisis as 4 Congress MLAs resigned, pushing the 14-seat government into a minority in the 33-seat Assembly. With 2 more MLAs resigning, Congress has been reduced to 9 seats, while ally DMK has 2 seats and 1 Independent MLA. Meanwhile, the Opposition has 14 seats - AINRC has 7 seats, BJP has 3 seats (nominated) and AIADMK has 4 seats. 5 seats lie vacant.

Congress MLAs - A Namassivayam, E.Theeppainjan, Malladi Krishna Rao, John Kumar have cited dissatisfaction with the current government as the reason for their exit - a day ahead of ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's visit. While  A Namassivayam, E.Theeppainjan have already joined BJP, Congress is in a huddle to tackle the situation. Amidst this crisis, President Kovind relieved L-G Kiran Bedi of her duties, replacing her with Soundararajan - who ordered a floor test on Feb 22.

Minutes after calling for a floor test, the CM and his MLAs walked out before the motion was put for voting. While  Speaker VP Sivakolundhu declared that the motion stood defeated, Narayanasamy submitted the letter of the resignation of the chief minister and his Council of Ministers to Lt. Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan. His decision comes a day after two more MLAs resigned from the UPA government - Congress' K Lakshminarayanan and DMK's Venkatesan, claiming to be sidelined by the government in its decision-making.  Later, President's rule was imposed and the Speaker quit from his post.

Among NDA allies - NR Congress is fielding 16 candidates, BJP and AIADMK are fielding 9 and 5 seats respectively. With Congress dropping Ex-CM Narayanaswami, the Cong is fighting 15 seats, DMK 13 seats, CPI and VCK on 1 each. Kamal Haasan's MNM is also eyeing to make inroads into the UT. All 33 seats are up for polls in a single phase, with results on May 2.