Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin cast his vote at Teynampet, accomped by wife Durga Stalin and son Udhaydhi, as voting began for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
"I have been getting reports of high voter turnout from across the State. This vote is against the ruling party," said the DMK chief.
While MK Stalin's son and DMK candidate, Udhaydhi Stalin who is contesting from the Chepauk Assembly constituency said, "I appeal to all to come out and cast their votes."
MK Stalin is contesting from the Kolathur Assembly constituency and is seeking re-election from this seat for the third time. Stalin is also leading the DMK campaign against the AIADMK-BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu in the upcoming polls.
Polling across 234 Assembly constituencies in 38 districts of Tamil Nadu started at 7 am. A total of 3,998 candidates are in the poll fray. In order to combat the COVID-19 spread, the number of polling stations has been increased to 88,937.
Tamil Nadu is witnessing a fierce battle between arch-rivals All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and DMK.
MK Stalin-led DMK, which is out of power since 2011 in the state, is in a head-to-head battle with the ruling AIADMK in nearly 130 constituencies.
AIADMK is contesting the poll in a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). PMK and BJP are contesting in 23 and 20 constituencies respectively in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly while the AIADMK has fielded its candidates for the rest of the seats.
While the DMK has allotted 25 seats to its Congress party, and six each for CPI, CPI (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK).
In the 2016 assembly elections, the AIADMK won 134 seats, the DMK bagged 80 seats and Congress managed to secure only 8 seats. The BJP drew a blank. In 2019, the DMK-led front had won 37 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu in the general elections.
( With inputs from ANI )
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