Perambalur (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 23 : DMK Deputy General Secretary, A Raja, on Thursday cast his vote in a polling booth at the Government High School in Vellore village in Perambalur district and reiterated his claim that the Secular Progressive Alliance will win over 200 of the total 234 seats in the Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters, A Raja said that people are casting votes as an "endorsement of the Dravidian model."
He said, "People are casting their votes as an endorsement of the ongoing Dravidian model of governance and the various welfare schemes implemented under it. Voters are supporting the secular alliance in appreciation of CM MK Stalin's political maturity, leadership, and development initiatives, and with the intention of preventing fascist forces from gaining ground in Tamil Nadu. DMK alliance would win more than 200 constituencies across Tamil Nadu, and MK Stalin will once again become the chief minister."
Tamil Nadu has witnessed massive voter turnout in the Assembly polls on Thursday, recording 62.18 per cent at 1 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
The highest turnout of 62.97 per cent was in Tiruppur district, followed by Namakkal at 62.51 per cent, then Erode at 61.97 per cent. Chennai district registered a turnout of 54.58 per cent, Coimbatore at 58.24 per cent and Madurai at 54.75 per cent. The lowest voter turnout was recorded in the Nilgiris at 50.42 per cent.
The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today, and the results will be announced on May 4.
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.