TAMIL NADU ELECTION 2021

The 234-seat assembly is scheduled to go to polls in a single-phase starting from April 6, 2021. Tamil Nadu is currently ruled by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with support from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In the opposition sits the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). AIADMK suffered a blow following the death of the former chief minister J Jayalalitha following which Edappadi K Palaniswami took over as Tamil Nadu’s CM in 2017. In the last assembly elections in 2016, AIADMK emerged victorious with 135 seats while DMK won 97 seats. However, AIADMK’s vote share between the 2016 and 2011 assembly elections saw significant deterioration. In 2011, the AIADMK vote share was 51.8% which decreased in 2016 to 40.8%. DMK’s vote share in 2011 was 30.1% which witnessed a marginal increase of 31.6% in 2016. Other than the two regional bigwigs, national parties such as Congress and BJP have minor vote share in Tamil Nadu. BJP’s vote share increased from 2.2% in 2011 to 2.8% in 2016 while Congress’ vote share decreased from 9.6% to 6.4% in 2016. Given how the DMK-led alliance won 38 of the state's 39 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, the party has emerged as a front-runner in the upcoming assembly polls. A new player this poll season will be Sasikala who seeks Jayalalithaa's legacy. Her incarceration has handicapped her preparations but Sasikala could dent the AIADMK. While the polls are a key test for AIADMK’s Palaniswami and his allies; in the DMK camp, Stalin needs to win the big prize of the CM seat to seal his ascendancy as Karunanidhi's successor. Since Tamil Nadu is often seen as a swing state, for Congress, this is its best chance to halt erosion in its electoral fortunes as a junior partner of DMK. As far as BJP is concerned, the party will hope to make gains in the company of AIADMK though it remains a limited force. After Bihar, West Bengal, along with Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, would be holding elections under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. The Election Commission of India has released a series of Covid guidelines for the poll process. Door-to-door campaigning has been restricted to five people. The roadshows too have been restricted to a maximum of five vehicles. All the election officials will be vaccinated beforehand. The timing of the voting has been extended by an hour to accommodate the delay caused by Covid-19 guidelines. Tamil Nadu Election Schedule 2021