Colourful last round campaigning in Tamil Nadu from Stalin, Annamalai and Edappadi Palaniswami; people's verdict tomorrow

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will go to booths tomorrow for the first phase of elections. The results of the election, where all front relations have changed, will come out on July 4th.

The NDA was able to stand up to the DMK front, which came out with the slogan of winning 40 out of 40, through a sensational campaign. In 2019, the NDA was led by Anna DMK. With Anna leaving the DMK front, the BJP came to the forefront. Despite being the main opposition, Anna DMK came third in campaigning in most of the constituencies. Fireworks, crowds and garlands may not necessarily turn into votes. In 2019, both the fronts campaigned side by side but NDA got just one seat. In the 2021 assembly elections, the NDA avoided a major collapse by winning 75 seats.

The future of Tamil Nadu politics will depend on whether the national parties get the new generation of votes. DMK is facing anti-incumbency sentiment. The DMK front is counting on the fact that the split of BJP and the Anna DMK, which should have capitalized on it, will lead to the division of opposing votes and victory will be easy. However, there are indications that the BJP and its allies, who are attacking the government by highlighting the benefits of the central projects, will improve the ground. Having given more than half the seats to newcomers and sharing seats with the DMDK and SDPI, the Anna DMK is conducting a major political experiment.

BJP, which contested in five seats last time, is contesting in twenty seats now. State President K Annamalai, who campaigned in Coimbatore, is expected to plant the victory flag there. Wins are expected at Union Minister L Murugan's Nilgiri and former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan's Kanyakumari seats as well. Chennai South (Tamizhisai Soundarrajan), Virutunagar (Radhika Sarathkumar) and Tirunalveli (Nainar Nagarajan) seats are also hopeful. PMK's hope for allies lies in Dharmapuri. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam's hope lies in Theni where TTV Dinakaran is contesting. The political future of NDA-independent O. Panneerselvam will be decided in Ramanathapuram.

Chief Minister MK Stalin says that the DMK front will win all seats, including in Theni, which it lost last time. Anna DMK is hoping for seats in the Kongunadu region, which includes Salem and Erode. Opposition Leader Edappadi Palaniswami, who led the party's campaign, held a road show in his native Salem yesterday. In the final hours, Chief Minister MK Stalin's campaign was in Chennai. Annamalai's last round of campaigning was in Coimbatore.