Lok Sabha election results 2019: Counting of votes in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry begins

Chennai: The counting of votes for 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one constituency in Puducherry has begun. The fate of 822 candidates in Tamil Nadu and 18 candidates in Puducherry will be decided on Thursday.

The electorate had cast their votes in the second phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 on April 18. 

Tamil Nadu recorded a voter turnout of 72.01 per cent while the polling percentage in Puducherry was 81.21.

The 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu are Tiruvallur, Chennai North, Chennai South, Chennai Central, Sriperumbudur, Kancheepuram, Arakkonam, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Arani, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tiruppur, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Pollachi, Dindigul, Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Perambalur, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Sivaganga, Madurai, Theni, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukkudi, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are the four major parties in Tamil Nadu. 

The AIADMK is in alliance with the BJP in Tamil Nadu while the Congress and DMK have joined hands. Most of the exit polls have predicted that Congress-DMK will get close to 27-30 seats in Tamil Nadu while the BJP-AIADMK alliance will 7-9 seats.

This was the first major election in Tamil Nadu without the two stalwarts - J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi.

In Puducherry, the All India NR Congress (AINRC) and the Congress are the only two parties and the exit polls predict that AINRC is likely to lose the seat to the Congress.