Makkal Needhi Maiam Chief Kamal Haasan loses to BJP candidate from Coimbatore South seat

New Delhi: The counting of votes for the high-stakes assembly polls in two southern states- Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry, is underway.

As per the initial trends, M.K. Stalin's party DMK has taken an early lead in Tamil Nadu with 97 seats, while AIADMK is leading on 62 seats. In Kerala, as per the early trends, LDF is leading on 89 seats, while UDF is leading on 47 seats. Meanwhile, in Puducherry BJP is leading on 9 seats followed by Congress on 6 seats.

The trends are available since 8 AM and are being updated every minute on the Election Commission of India's website - https://results.eci.gov.in. 

All necessary arrangements have been made by the Election Commission for counting which began at 8 am across counting centres. The outcome of assembly polls is likely to have implications for politics at the national level.

The exit polls for the four states and a Union Territory predicted a clear victory for DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu, LDF retaining power in Kerala and BJP-led NDA in Assam and a tight contest in Bengal with several surveys giving an edge to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). 

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, the assembly polls will be the first in the absence of two towering leaders of the state and former chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi. The fate of 3,998 candidates was sealed during polling on April 6. The state has 234 constituencies. While ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) made a determined bid to retain power, the DMK-led alliance campaigned hard to oust it.

DMK has been out of power since 2011. Makkal Needhi Maiam has also made efforts to put up a strong fight. Several other parties were also in the fray.

The DMK-Congress alliance is looking to dethrone the AIADMK alliance and are likely to cross the halfway mark of 118 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. 

Kerala

In Kerala, leaders of both LDF and UDF have expressed confidence of victory in Kerala polls ahead of counting. The counting of votes for the 140 member assembly will begin at 8 am. The polling was held in a single phase on April 6. 

The exit polls have indicated that the ruling LDF will create history by getting re-elected but leaders of Congress-led UDF have rejected these surveys and expressed confidence of their alliance coming to power in the southern state. LDF leaders have said that the exit polls reflect the acceptability of the ruling alliance among people.

Puducherry

In Puducherry, the polls predicted victory for NDA. The results will decide the fate of 324 candidates. The battle is seen mainly between NDA and Congress-DMK alliance. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam is also in the fray. The exit polls have predicted victory for NDA.

02 May 2021

21:41 IST

Makkal Needhi Maiam Chief Kamal Haasan loses to BJP women's wing national President Vanathi Srinivasan in Coimbatore South constituency, as per EC. 

19:40 IST

PM Modi tweeted congratulations for incumbent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

I would like to congratulate Shri @vijayanpinarayi and the LDF for winning the Kerala Assembly elections. We will continue working together on a wide range of subjects and to ensure India mitigates the COVID-19 global pandemic.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 2, 2021