Mood of TN in favour of INDIA alliance: Udhayanidhi Stalin

CHENNAI: As the voting is underway in all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu in the first phase of the 2024 general elections, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Friday that the INDIA alliance will sweep the elections in the state. "I have travelled across the state for the campaigning. The mood of the voters in Tamil Nadu is that the DMK and INDIA alliance will sweep the elections," he told ANI after casting his vote at a polling booth in Chennai.

Earlier, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and candidate from Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency, O Panneerselvam cast his vote at a polling booth in Theni. After casting his vote, Panneerselvam stated that the BJP alliance would win the Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha polls.

"The BJP alliance will definitely win. There is a BJP wave across the country. AIADMK will come back to me," he said.O Panneerselvam is contesting as an Independent candidate backed by the BJP-led NDA. Jayaperumal from AIADMK, K Navaskani from Indian Union Muslim League and Chandraprabha from Naam Tamilar Katchi are the prominent candidates for this seat. The mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7 am today in 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories. Voters will exercise their franchise until 6 pm today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing ousting him from power. In Tamil Nadu in the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, comprising the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, registered a landslide victory, winning 38 of the 39 seats in the state.

Those voting in the first phase include seats in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry. The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 accordingly.

An estimated 8.4 crore male voters, 8.23 crore female voters, and 11,371 third-gender electors are eligible to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, according to the ECI data. (ANI)