Tamil Nadu election LIVE: Covid-hit Kanimozhi casts vote; 71% turnout

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry election 2021 LIVE updates: The high-voltage campaign for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry elections concluded with the NDA and DMK-Congress putting an all-out effort to woo the voters

8:46 PM

Tamil Nadu Assembly elections LIVE: 71% voter turnout recorded till 7 pm, according to EC

Tamil Nadu Assembly elections LIVE: 71% voter turnout recorded till 7 pm, according to the initial estimates of Election Commission of India

8:15 PM

Kanimozhi thanks EC for helping her vote despite health conditions

8:12 PM

A Covid patient cast vote at polling station in Karuvadikuppam

6:59 PM

DMK MP Kanimozhi, other Covid-19 affected people in Tamil Nadu vote wearing PPE kit

DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi, who is being treated for Covid-19, on Tuesday voted at a polling station here by wearing the Personal Protective Equipment kit.

 

Also, a number of others being treated for the virus voted here and in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

 

Kanimozhi, also DMK's women's wing secretary, arrived in an ambulance from the hospital where she is being treated for the infection and voted with the PPE kit on. She had tested positive for the virus on April 3.

6:46 PM

EC has designated one hour between 6 pm and 7 pm to facilitate voting for Covid positive patients

Election Commission has designated one hour between 6 pm and 7 pm to facilitate voting for Covid positive patients

6:35 PM

DMK MP Kanimozhi cast her vote wearing PPE kit in Mylapore constituency

5:51 PM

Will work with new govt to free TN temples from state control: Sadhguru

Isha Foundation founder and spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said on Tuesday no matter which party comes to power, he will work with them to free TN temples from state control in the next five years.

 

Responding to a question on his 'FreeTNTemples movement' launched last month, Jaggi Vasudev, after casting his vote, claimed approximately 3.5 crore people have expressed their support for the movement.

5:44 PM

LIVE: 63% voting recorded in Tamil Nadu till 5:20 pm, according to EC

LIVE: 63% voting recorded in Tamil Nadu till 5:20 pm, according to the Election Commission of India

5:15 PM

Kamal Haasan’s party alleges BJP distributing tokens to voters that can be later exchanged for cash

Kamal Haasan’s party alleges BJP distributing tokens to voters that can be later exchanged for cash

4:36 PM

Puducherry elections: Around 66 per cent polling till 3 PM

An estimated 66 per cent of the 10.04 lakh voters in the Union Territory of Puducherry exercised their franchise till 3 PM on Tuesday.

 

Polling was brisk from the beginning.

 

Official sources said that 66.36 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in Puducherry while the Karaikal region recorded 64.86 per cent, Mahe 56.53 per cent and Yanam region 71.60 per cent.

 

Yanam, where the AINRC leader N Rangasamy is contesting, registered a higher percentage of polling than the other three regions from the beginning.

3:45 PM

LIVE: AIADMK complains to EC about DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin

AIADMK files official complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer about DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin casting his vote with DMK's symbol etched on his shirt. Demands proper action be taken.

3:21 PM

Nearly 40 per cent turnout as 'smooth' polling underway in Tamil Nadu

Voter turnout was nearly 40 per cent in Tamil Nadu till 1 pm as polling continued peacefully in a brisk pace across the state with key leaders including AIADMK's K Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam and DMK chief M K Stalin exercising their franchise on Tuesday.

 

"Till 1 pm, the polling was 39.61 per cent and the highest was Virudhunagar district with 41.79 per cent and lowest was Tirunelveli with 32.29 per cent," Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told reporters adding there were no major law and order issues anywhere and polling was on 'smoothly.'

 

Asked about an allegation that at a polling station in Virudhunagar, whichever candidate people chose on the EVM, it displayed only a particular symbol, he said there were no such reports.

3:11 PM

Visually challenged voters cast their votes at a polling station in Trichy

3:02 PM

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram cast vote in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram casts his vote along with his wife and daughter at a polling booth in Tiruppathur, Sivaganga district on Tuesday.

 

"I believe that DMK-Congress alliance will have a massive victory in Tamil Nadu. It will be a repeat of the 2019 election where the alliance code a handsome victory," said Karti Chidambaram.

 

"The people of Tamil Nadu want a regime change and a government which does not have the smell, stain or shadow of Hindi, Hindutva BJP in Tamil Nadu," he added.

2:12 PM

Puducherry polls: 53.77 per cent voter turnout till 1.30 pm

Puducherry recorded a voter turnout of 53.77 per cent till 1.30 pm across 30 constituencies, according to the Election Commission (EC).

 

The Oussudu constituency in the Union Territory (UT) has witnessed the highest voting percentage with a voter turnout of 60.11 per cent till 1.30 pm, while the Mahe constituency witnessed the lowest voting percentage with a voter turnout of 45.80 per cent. Thirunallar and Thirubhuvani also reported voter turnout above 59 per cent.

 

A total of 10,04,507 electors will decide the fate of 324 candidates across 30 constituencies of Puducherry.

2:11 PM

Actor Vijay cycles his way to polling station in Chennai, sparks speculation of protest over fuel prices

2:04 PM

Every vote in electoral democracy will rewrite history, says DMK's Stalin

2:00 PM

'Smooth' polling underway in Tamil Nadu amid tight security

Polling is underway in Tamil Nadu with top leaders including AIADMK's K Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam, DMK chief M K Stalin and celebrities like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan exercising their franchise on Tuesday.

 

Top actor Vijay rode a bicycle to the polling booth, sparking speculations if it had something to do with the fuel prices, but his publicist later clarified that the star did so considering car parking problems in the small street where the polling booth was located.

 

Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo after voting at a polling station here told reporters that polling exercise was on 'smooth' across Tamil Nadu barring 'one or two' places that witnessed issues related to the Electronic Voting Machines and these were attended to immediately.

12:09 PM

Tamil Nadu election 2021: 26.29 per cent voting recorded till 11 am, says CEO

Tamil Nadu recorded 26.29 per cent voting till 11 am, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo Said.

 

Namakkal district recorded the highest of 28.33 per cent and Tirunelveli the lowest at 20.98, the CEO told reporters.

 

Chennai's polling percentage till 11 am stood at 23.67 per cent, he said, adding there have been "no untoward incidents so far" from across the state.

11:34 AM

Tamil Nadu polls: Rajinikanth casts vote in Stella Maris

Megastar Rajinikanth cast his vote at a polling booth in Stella Maris of Tamil Nadu's Thousand Lights constituency.

11:08 AM

Tamil Nadu: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami casts his vote at a polling station in Siluvampalayam

I appeal to all to cast their vote in legislative assembly elections: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami

10:41 AM

Governor of Telangana and Lt Guv of Puducherry, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan cast her vote in Virugambakk

9:51 AM

Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2021 live updates | State sees 13.80% polling till 9 a.m., says CEO

 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2021 live updates | State sees 13.80% polling till 9 a.m., says CEO

 

9:50 AM

Tamil Nadu election 2021: Actor-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan

Actor-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan, along with his daughters Shruti Haasan (right) and Akshara Haasan, await their turn to cast their vote in Chennai’s Teynampet area.

9:30 AM

Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam casts his vote in Periyakulam

9:04 AM

Former Puducherry CM and Congress leader V.Narayanasamy casts his vote

7:40 AM

Puducherry election 2021 LIVE updates

Puducherry, a Congress government in power seems all set to be dislodged with former Congressman N Rangasamy’s All India N Rangasamy Congress having done a deal with the BJP, which had broken the Congress on the eve of the elections and dislodged sitting CM Velu Narayanasamy from power. The BJP has little or no presence in the Union Territory and is relying on former Congressmen to help it make the cut. The party’s claim is bolstered by the presence of the AIADMK in the alliance: and the grouping is expected to make the Congress sweat. If it is a touch-and-go result, three strong Independents who are expected to win, could become kingmakers. This will make the role of Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan crucial to the mix.

7:36 AM

Tamil Nadu election 2021: In TN, the BJP is riding on the shoulder of the AIADMK

In TN, the BJP is riding piggyback on the shoulder of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has forged a formidable electoral alliance which includes the Congress.

 

As this will be the first election that DMK leader Stalin is organising and directing entirely on his own, without his father, veteran M Karunanidhi looking over his shoulder, it will also be his first stab at trying to become CM. The BJP’s main campaign point is the perpetuation of a dynasty: but the DMK is reminding voters about the imposition of ‘Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan’ on TN. No matter who forms the government, it is vote share that is going to tell the real story.

7:24 AM

Request people to vote in record numbers, says PM Modi

7:13 AM

Puducherry election 2021: Voting begins

Puducherry election 2021: Voting begins