Tamil Nadu exit poll results 2021: Poll predictions to be released after 7.30 pm today

As per the directives of the Election Commission, the results of the exit polls for the election held on 6 April for the Tamil Nadu Assembly will be released after 7.30 pm on Thursday, after polling for the final phase of the West Bengal Assembly election draws to an end. As per the Election Commission, exit polls for West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry can be published 7.30 pm onwards on 29 April — an hour after the polls close. The counting of votes of the single-phase election to the 234-seat Assembly in Tamil Nadu will take place on 2 May. A voter turnout of over 71 percent was recorded, according to the estimated figures on the EC’s Voter Turnout app. The main contest is between the DMK-Congress alliance and the AIADMK-BJP alliance. The DMK is aiming to unseat the ruling party while the AIADMK is keen to ensure the continuation of “Amma aatchi” (Amma’s rule) for an unprecedented third time. The MK Stalin-led party has been in the Opposition since 2011 when the AIADMK, under Jayalalithaa, stormed to the ruling saddle and also retained power in the subsequent elections in 2016. The AIADMK however faces an uphill task, especially after the rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha election when the DMK-led alliance won 38 out of 39 seats. AIADMK ally BJP, which had not won any seat in the previous Assembly election, contested in 20 constituencies. Another AIADMK ally PMK contested from 23 constituencies. The Congress, an ally of the DMK, fielded candidates in 25 Assembly segments. MNM, founded in 2018 and led by actor-politician Kamal Haasan, tried its luck in the Assembly polls for the first time. TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK is in alliance with the DMDK and other parties. As many as 3,998 candidates, including Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, DMK President MK Stalin, AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran, actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan, Naam Tamizhar Katchi leader Seeman and BJP state unit chief L Murugan contested the election. While the DMK chief is seeking re-election for the straight third term from the Kolathur Assembly seat, his son and party youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin is debuting from the Chepauk-Triplicance constituency. Palaniswami contested from AIADMK stronghold Edapaddi, from where he has won four times. According to a report by The Hindu,  during the poll campaign, the AIADMK-BJP attempted to project the DMK as a threat to law and order and women. On the other hand, the DMK and its allies targetted the AIADMK as an extension of the BJP and warning the electorate about the communally divisive politics gaining roots in the state. Apart from leaders of the state-level outfits, national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also campaigned for the respective ruling and Opposition alliances. On the day of the election,  both the AIADMK and DMK, engaged in accusations and counter-accusations about poll code violations and violence. With inputs from PTI