Charges of rampant distribution of cash and other inducements on the part of candidates, and the inability of voters to reach their home towns were the two major issues in Tamil Nadu as voters in the State began exercising their franchise on April 23. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to address both these complaints.

Many journalists and activists recorded cash-for-votes incidents across Tamil Nadu, despite the seizure of money and other inducements by the ECI. Journalists put out actual amounts distributed by each party in constituencies that they were reporting on, but there has been no formal complaint lodged by journalists with the ECI. That job was done by a non-governmental organisation. On April 22, the NGO, Arappor Iyakkam, wrote to the ECI to postpone the election in Alangulam, Mylapore, and Thirumangalam.

“Arappor Iyakkam has sent a complaint to CEO—Tamil Nadu and Observer seeking immediate cancellation of election in Alangulam, Mylapore and Thirumangalam given clear evidence of cash distribution and attempt to influence voters,” it said in a social media post on X. In a letter to Archana Patnaik, the Chief Election Officer, Tamil Nadu, on April 22, it said: “We have been hearing of massive cash distribution across Tamil Nadu. The ECI has done very little to stop it in the first place. At least in places where clear prima facie evidence has come out, it is important for Election Commission to act immediately.” So far, there is no response from the ECI.

Many voters complained about the inability to reach their home towns ahead of the vote. Some of these voters gave vent to their frustrations on social media. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader, actor Vijay, wrote on polling day, April 23, to the Chief Electoral Officer, seeking transport arrangements to be streamlined across the State. “The scenes at Chennai’s Koyambedu, Kilambakkam, and Madhavaram bus stands, and equivalent terminals elsewhere, are unacceptable on election day,” Vijay said in a letter, which he posted on the party’s social media handle on X.

“Thousands of citizens who have travelled from all over the world and from various States and from within the cities of Tamil Nadu or are attempting to travel to exercise their franchise have been left helpless due to the heavy requisitioning of buses and vehicles for poll duty without parallel arrangements for ordinary voters,” he added. He demanded that the ECI extend the polling time by two hours, till 8 pm. For this too, there is no public response from the ECI.

The irony is that the ECI, which wants to ensure free and fair elections, has hogged a large part of the State public transport fleet and has commandeered it for its use. As a result, the number of buses operated on regular routes by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation had to be cut down. This has led to huge crowds in various bus termini across the state.

In Tamil Nadu, some voters found their name missing from the rolls. This is despite many of them having applied again earlier this year, after their names were removed. In one case, the online tracking status, checked on April 23 (on the day of polling), showed the status “electoral roll updated”. The name, the Assembly constituency and the type of form which was submitted were shown on the site, a screenshot of which was shared with this correspondent. To add insult to this grave injury, the site also provides a tracker: The form (Form 7) was submitted on January 28, and a BLO (Block Level Officer) was appointed to examine the case the very next day, January 29. The BLO made a field visit and verified the details, a fact that was confirmed to this correspondent by the voter. The claim was accepted on February 9. But when the voter turned up at the booth on April 23, her name was missing.

Similar stories were reported from across the State. One woman in Kannagi Nagar, Chennai, told a journalist that her name was missing while her son’s name was in the rolls. Another voter in Royapettah found her name missing, while her husband’s found place in the electoral roll.

In 2021, Tamil Nadu’s 73.63 per cent voters exercised their franchise. The total voters in 2021 was 6.28 crore (6,28,23,749). Of this, 4.62 crore (4,62,56,553) voted. In 2026, after the haphazard implementation of Special Intensive Revision, about 70 lakh names were removed and the total number of voters stood at 5,73,43,291. In the first phase of SIR, as many as 97 lakh voters were deleted and later, 27 lakh were added. The total deletion is just over 10 per cent, when the population growth rate is 0.3 per cent.

In 2021, the DMK alliance won 159 seats and managed 45.72 per cent of the votes. The Congress, Left parties, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were part of the alliance. The AIADMK alliance won 75 seats and had as much as 40.02 per cent of the votes. The BJP and the Pattali Makkal Katchi were the major partners in the alliance. The PMK was a united party, with the father and founder, S. Ramadoss, and his son and current president, Anbumani, on the same page, and working hard for the victory of the alliance.

T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam contested on its own. It did not win any seats but had 2.87 per cent of the votes. The party managed to dent the AIADMK’s chances in more than 15 constituencies. Actor Kamal Haasan’s political party, the Makkal Neethi Maiam, managed 2.74 per cent of the votes. Kamal contested the election from Coimbatore South and lost the seat narrowly to BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan.

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