Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliance achieved a clean sweep in Tamil Nadu, winning all 39 seats. Meanwhile, the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) secured second place in 28 constituencies, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance finished as the runner-up in the remaining 11.
While the DMK is making a third consecutive electoral victory, the AIADMK, under the leadership of Edappadi K. Palaniswami, had been hoping to make a comeback after losses in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 assembly elections. The BJP, which has been aggressively trying to make inroads in Tamil Nadu, managed to secure a 10.69 percent vote share.
The DMK alliance led in all constituencies with comfortable margins, except in Virudhunagar and Dharmapuri, where it was trailing until noon. However, as of 7pm, DMK’s Mani A was leading by 21,300 votes, while in Virudhunagar, alliance partner Congress’s incumbent MP Manickam Tagore was ahead by 6,410 votes.
According to political analysts, it’s an election for the DMK to validate its three years of governance. “The results shed light on the performance of the DMK in the last three years. The party and its president M.K. Stalin are seeking validation this time, and they have won in most places by a considerable margin,” said political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy.
However, Lok Sabha elections may not be the reflection of what the people exactly think, since it’s a national election, political analyst N. Sathiyamoorthy highlighted.
According to him, the anti-incumbency may not be reflected in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. “In 2009, the DMK won 27 seats in Lok Sabha, but in the 2011 assembly elections, they lost the government. So, only in the next assembly elections, we will get to know about the people’s mandate on the DMK’s government,” Sathiyamoorthy added.
Meanwhile, for the AIADMK and the BJP, it was more like a perception battle to make grounds for the 2026 assembly elections.
“The focus of both the parties was to prepare the ground for the 2026 assembly elections. The BJP wanted to showcase its strength and create a perception that there is a reception for the BJP in Tamil Nadu. On the other hand, the AIADMK wants to showcase that it is the main contender in the state — equal to the ruling DMK,” Raveendran said.
Also Read: Debut to dominance? How 2024 campaign set up Udhayanidhi as DMK second-in-command
DMK’s stand
Of the 39 constituencies, the DMK is contesting 21 seats, while its alliance partners — the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), CPI and CPI(M) — are contesting nine and two seats each, respectively.
The Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and the Indian Union Muslim League are contesting in one seat each.
After a few nervous moments in Dharmapuri earlier in the day, the DMK has made it first to the finish line in all the 21 seats it contested.
In the highly anticipated Coimbatore battle, DMK candidate Ganapathi P Rajkumar is leading with a margin of 4,42,016 votes against BJP state president K Annamalai, who has 3,52,890 votes as of 7.25 pm.
Meanwhile, alliance candidate and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, the incumbent MP from the Chidambaram constituency who won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by a slender margin of 3,219 votes, is now leading by 1,01,657 votes. Additionally, his party colleague D. Ravikumar, also an incumbent MP, is leading by 69,805 votes in the Villupuram constituency.
The Congress, contesting nine seats including its stronghold Kanyakumari, is leading in all its constituencies.
Similarly, the CPI and CPI(M) are leading in all the constituencies they contested. MDMK leader Vaiko’s son, running from the Tiruchirapalli constituency on the matchbox stick symbol, is leading by a margin of 3,11,432 votes.
Also Read: 3 years of Stalin as Tamil Nadu CM — ‘governance style more like Jayalalithaa than Karunanidhi’
AIADMK and BJP tally
While Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai remains non-committal on seat predictions, the party has just about managed to meet its target of a double-digit vote share.
Contesting in 23 seats, the BJP was looking for an edge in Chennai Central, Chennai South, Vellore, Perambalur, Virudhunagar, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari — where prominent faces, including former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, party president Annamalai, Union Minister L. Murugan and actress-turned-politician Radhika Sarathkumar are in the race.
However, the BJP is behind in all 23 seats it contested. It is trailing second in six constituencies — Coimbatore, Chennai South, Chennai Central, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Nilgiris.
Meanwhile, the NDA alliance partners, PMK, is contesting 10 seats, former Union minister G.K. Vasam-led Tamil Maanila Congress is contesting three, while the ousted AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s AMMK party is contesting two and former AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam contesting one seat.
Of the 10 seats PMK contested, Anbumani Ramadoss’s wife Sowmiya Anbumani, a candidate from the Dharmapuri constituency, was trailing second with a margin of 21,300 votes.
Meanwhile, former AIADMK leaders Dhinakaran and Panneerselvam are trailing in Theni and Ramanathapuram constituencies, respectively, despite a tough fight. While Dhinakaran is trailing by 2,62,969 votes, Panneerselvam is behind by 1,61,463 votes.
The AIADMK is trailing in all the constituencies it contested. Despite being the prime opposition party in the state, AIADMK and its alliance partners have been pushed to third position in 11 constituencies.
In Chennai South, where former minister D. Jayakumar’s son J. Jayavardhan has been fielded, the party is trailing third next to DMK’s Tamilachi Thangapandian and BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Also Read: Modi to meditate at Kanyakumari’s Vivekananda landmark after LS poll campaign closes 30 May