Tamil Nadu elections: 54.10 per cent voter turnout till 4 pm

Tamil Nadu on Tuesday registered a voter turnout of 54.10 per cent till 4 pm in the single-phase of the state assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC).

As per the district-wise polling record, the highest voter turnout was seen at Namakkal and Karur with 64.78 per cent and 64.52 per cent respectively. Chennai has reported the lowest turnout so far, with 39.23 per cent.

In Edappadi constituency, where Chief Minister Edappadi K Palswami is contesting, a voter turnout of 58.00 per cent was recorded, while DMK chief MK Stalin's constituency Kolathur -- where he is up against AIADMK's Adhi Rajaram -- a voter turnout of 41.38 per cent was registered.

Coimbatore (South), from where actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan is making his electoral debut, recorded a turnout of 46.89 per cent.

Polling across 234 assembly constituencies in 38 districts of Tamil Nadu started at 7 am. A total of 3,998 candidates are in the poll fray in a single phase. In order to combat the COVID-19 spread, the number of polling stations has been increased to 88,937.

Tamil Nadu is witnessing a fierce battle between arch-rivals All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and MK Stalin-led DMK. DMK, which has been out of power since 2011 in the state, is in a head-to-head battle with the ruling AIADMK in nearly 130 constituencies.

AIADMK is contesting the poll in a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). PMK and BJP are contesting in 23 and 20 constituencies respectively in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly while the AIADMK has fielded its candidates for the rest of the seats.

While the DMK has allotted 25 seats to Congress, six each to CPI, CPI (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK).

( With inputs from ANI )