Tamil Nadu polls: Parties review booth data, plan counting strategy

CHENNAI: As Tamil Nadu awaits the counting of votes for the Assembly elections on May 4, political activity has intensified across major parties, with leaders holding strategy meetings, reviewing ground feedback, and expressing confidence about the outcome.

Chief Minister M. K. Stalin convened a series of high-level meetings with senior leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its allies after returning from a brief stay in Kodaikanal. Discussions focused on constituency-level inputs, voter turnout patterns, and post-poll assessments, along with preparedness for counting day. At the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, Stalin also met alliance leaders, including K. Selvaperunthagai and E. R. Eswaran, to evaluate overall performance and coordinate monitoring mechanisms at counting centres. Senior DMK functionaries such as A. Raja, R. S. Bharathi, T. K. S. Elangovan, and T. R. B. Raaja were also involved in these consultations. The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance is contesting all 234 constituencies, with the DMK itself fielding candidates in 164 seats and the Congress in 28.

Meanwhile, the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has been conducting parallel consultations under its General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami at his residence in Salem. Senior leaders, including S. P. Velumani, M. Thambidurai, M. R. Vijayabaskar, C. Vijayabaskar, O. S. Manian, and K. P. Munusamy, have reviewed booth-level data, assessed constituency feedback, and discussed strategies for both counting day logistics and the post-result political scenario. The meetings highlight the party's efforts to ensure organisational readiness and respond swiftly once results are declared.

Adding a third dimension to the contest, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has projected strong optimism about its electoral prospects. The party's Chief Coordinator K. A. Sengottaiyan, speaking in Gobichettipalayam, expressed confidence that TVK would secure between 150 and 200 seats and emerge as the single largest party. He credited party leader Vijay with the ability to connect with the masses and lead transformative change in the state. Sengottaiyan said the results would reflect a "silent mandate" of voters and predicted a major political shift, while dismissing speculation about cabinet formation and responding sharply to criticism from rivals. (IANS)

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