Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2021 will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2.
The voting will take place strictly following the COVID-19 protocols issued by the Union Health Ministry. The officials inside polling booths will wear masks, face shields, and gloves and use hand sanitisers, said the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The voting time have been increased by an hour. The number of polling booths has also been increased from 66,007 to 88,936, added the ECI.
How many Assembly constituencies are there in Tamil Nadu?
There are 234 Assembly constituencies in the state of Tamil Nadu. 118 is the magic number i.e, the minimum seats required for a party or a coalition to stake claim for the formation of the government.
Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2021: Opinion poll
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is likely to sweep the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls 2021, 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 177 seats, which is a huge improvement compared to its 2016 performance when it won just 89 seats.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which comprises of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is likely to bag only 49 seats, a drop of 87 seats from its 2016 tally of 136.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and the alliance between TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) can emerge as dark horses in the Assembly polls.
As per the opinion poll, DMK president MK Stalin is the most favoured candidate for the post of chief minister in Tamil Nadu. 43.1% people in the survey voted for MK Stalin, while 29.7% voted for the current chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.