The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is likely to sweep the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, projected the Times Now-C Voter opinion poll. The alliance which consists of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), CPI, CPI(M), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Indian Union Muslim League(IUML), Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK), and a few smaller parties is likely to bag 158 seats, which is a growth of more than 60 seats it had won in 2016.
As per the opinion poll, DMK president MK Stalin is the most favoured candidate for the post of chief minister in Tamil Nadu. 38.4% people in the survey voted for MK Stalin, while 31% voted for the current chief minister EK Palaniswami. 7.4% voted for Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan, whereas 4.3% voted for Rajinikanth who has decided to not enter politics.
Meanwhile, the UPA has almost sealed their seat-sharing agreement. Congress will contest in 25 Assembly seats. VCK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK have received six each. IUML has received three seats, and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) has been provided two seats. On the other hand, the AIADMK has allotted 20 Assembly constituencies to the BJP and 23 seats to the Pattalli Makkal Katchi (PMK).
For the uninitiated, Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2, announced the Election Commission of India (ECI). Polls will be held for 234 seats in Tamil Nadu with the Congress-DMK and BJP-AIADMK alliance being the major groups contesting against each other.
