Tamil Nadu Assembly Polls Updates: 70% voter turnout recorded at 3 pm

Tamil Nadu recorded 70 per cent voter turnout till 3 pm on Thursday, according to Election Commission of India. The tally came as voting continued on all 234 assembly seats of Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu, the highest turnout was recorded in Namakkal at 76.43 per cent, followedby Karur at 76.08 per cent. Meanwhile, Kanniyakumari recorded the lowest turnout at 61.95 per cent.

The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.

Several leaders, including Chief Minister MK Stalin, TVK chief Vijay, DMK minister KN Nehru, along with actors Rajinikanth and Dhurv Vikram, cast their votes this morning.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik said that the state's electorate comprises over 5.73 crore voters, featuring 2,93,04,905 female voters, 2,80,30,658 male voters, and 7,728 third-gender voters. The poll body is also catering to 14,59,039 first-time voters and 68,501 service voters, with 4,18,541 postal votes already received. Furthermore, 62 counting centres have already been established to ensure a smooth process after the high-stakes voting concludes

The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.

Voters turnout was 70% till 3 pm

Tamil Nadu is witnessing mega voter turnout even during the first few hours of voting. The voter turnout in the state was recorded at 70 per cent at 3 pm on Thursday, according to Election Commission of India. It was 56.81 percent at 1 pm.

MK Stalin inspects election war room set up

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin on Thursday visited the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, to inspect the election war room set up for the 2026 Assembly polls.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, Stalin checked the functioning of the control room and enquired about the calls received there. The war room has been set up to manage election-related coordination and to address queries and issues raised by party functionaries on the ground.

A dedicated control room has been established at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai to handle election coordination work. Party members have been given a phone number, 08069446900, to raise election-related questions, complaints, and feedback.

Officials said the system is aimed at improving communication within the party network and ensuring faster response to ground-level concerns during the election period.

Stalin urges everyone to perform their ‘democratic duty’

Vijay Sethupathi came out to vote

Actor Vijay Sethupathi on Thursday exercised his franchise in Chennai, joining several prominent faces from the film fraternity who turned up at polling booths amid the ongoing Tamil Nadu assembly elections.

Actor Vijay Sethupathi fulfilled his democratic duty in the Anna Nagar assembly constituency no. 21 in Kilpauk Chennai high school and spoke about the importance of civic responsibility. “Everyone come and vote, this is our most important responsibility... Best wishes to all the youth.”