Chennai: The Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu have delivered a shock setback at least in the initial three hours since the vote count commenced today (May 4).
The party workers who had begun assembling before the headquarters in anticipation of a win as predicted by most exit polls, have begun slipping away and the massive tents that had been erected by the party administration before the building are now being taken down.
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections | Tents are being removed from Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, as the early trends show DMK at a distant third position.
TVK is leading on 45, AIADMK on 41 and DMK on 19 seats, as per early trends. pic.twitter.com/7xPojVMKcQ
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2026
The mood in the DMK camp is morose as the dark horse party – celebrity actor Vijay’s TVK party and the AIADMKS (with an alliance with BJP) seem to be surging ahead.
https://x.com/smitadeshmukh/status/2051162096860295213
As a journalist posting on social media website X pointed out, the mandate seems to be a hit back by the electorate for the Hindu-hate politics of the DMK dynasty led by chief minister MK Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin who had infamously said that ‘Sanatana Dharma is like malaria, dengue, and corona. It should not just be opposed; it must be eradicated.’
People also seem to have hit back through the ballot, the minority-appeasement politics of DMK members like A Raja, a former union minister who had asked, “What is Sanatana? The name comes from Sanskrit. It is against social justice and equality… Sanatana dharma should be compared to diseases with social stigma like HIV and leprosy… Hindu religion is a menace not only to India but to the entire world.”
The media in the state did not reflect the ground swell of disenchantment with the DMK. Muzzled? And while some in the Congress party advised the leadership to dump the DMK & go with Vijay, others did not want it – why? coz DMK bankrolled the Cong campaignhttps://t.co/dr92sISxSx
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) May 4, 2026
At around 11:00 am as the counting still going on, DMK was leading in 47 seats, AIADMK in 77+, and Vijay Joseph led TVK leading in 106 seats in the 234 strong state assembly.
The incumbent DMK founded by M Karunanidhi and run like a fiefdom by the descendants (Son MK Stalin and grandson Udhayanidhi Stalin) seems to be losing power in what was their stronghold.
