Tamil Nadu Election Result 2021 Highlights: How BJP, NTK & Congress gained better foothold

Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi party which first contested in 2016 and "opened account" with a mere 1.1 per cent vote share has earned a slight margin of over 6.85 per cent in the 2021 State Assembly elections. In most constituencies, the party has surprisingly come third place, after DMK and AIADMK, ahead of Kamal Haasan's MNM, TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK and PMK parties.

NTK faces 3rd straight loss despite being 3rd largest party in State

In similar NTK fashion, the party contested in all 234 seats alone, without an alliance. Where the party stood out was when it created a sensation after it fielded 50 per cent women candidates in the 2019 Parliamentary election. The same was also followed for the 2021 elections.

However, it is important to note that though NTK has widened its presence, the party has failed to create significant waves in the poll. Based on its vote share, the party polled over 21 lakh votes in 2021, by ECI estimates, this is 5 lakh more votes than its tally in the 2019 Parliamentary election.

Tamil Nadu witnessed a five-pronged battle for legacy in the 2021 elections. But apart from regional heavyweights DMK and AIADMK, other local parties failed to get even a single seat in the elections. Among the three parties, NTK stood tall with more than 6 per cent vote share, which improved from 1 per cent in the 2016 State assembly election. Despite the leap in vote share, NTK has for the third straight time failed to win a single seat in the State.

Congress springs back with a surprising rise

The Congress party improved the "Strike-rate" hurdle it faced in the past Assembly elections (both in 2011 and 2016) by winning in about 18 of 25 seats allotted by the DMK. This is only the second time since its inception in Tamil Nadu has it gained such a huge lead with a success rate of 64 per cent.

TNCC (Tamil Nadu Congress Committee ) President KS Alagiri expressed happiness over the party’s performance and attributed the success to the strength of the DMK alliance and unity among Congress workers. Both BJP and Congress have gained significant ground in the state, it appears as though TN is preparing to usher in an era of national parties again, in due course of time.

Lotus blooms in TN again for 20 years

The curious case of BJP's rise in Tamil Nadu has come as a surprise to many with four of its candidates set to enter the State Assembly. 

L Murugan, TN BJP chief in a press briefing after the election results were announced thanked all the allies and the people who worked hard and voted for the party. Notably, after a gap of 20 years, the BJP now has four lawmakers - C Saraswathi from Modakurichi, MR Gandhi from Nagercoil, Vanathi Srinivasan from Coimbatore South and Nainar Nagenthran from Tirunelveli, Murugan said. The BJP had contested in 20 seats and had won in four constituencies. 

In the 2016 elections, the BJP contested alone. At the time, the AIADMK, DMK and NTK were all active in the field, however, BJP still won 22 per cent of the votes from just six constituencies and 10 per cent in 14 places. While it gained big shares, it failed to win even a single seat. This was because the party could not choose the best constituencies in its favour and drew the short stick by contesting in 181 seats thereby registering only a 2.8 per cent cumulative vote share. 2021 polls by all means appear to be a personal victory for the BJP. 

How did Makkal Needhi Maiam fair in the 2021 polls?

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) which contested 180 seats in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections won 0 seats. In the 2019 Parliamentary elections also the party won 0 seats. Party supremo Kamal Haasan lost by a margin of fewer than 2000 votes in South Coimbatore to BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan.

MNM's vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha election was 3.72% (in the seats it contested). The party performed well in urban areas such as Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, where it regularly polled upwards of 8.5% to 12.5 % of the vote share and often secured more than one lakh votes, which may have prompted Kamal Haasan to contest from Coimbatore. However, it performed poorly in rural areas and came third in many urban constituencies but quickly fell behind NTK, AIADMK and DMK.