Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 | Fun, surprise, emotion add spice to voting exercise in poll-bound state

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Assembly election on Thursday turned out to be a kaleidoscope of tidbits, tense moments and curiosity.

Incidents like AIADMK leader and former Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan reportedly pressing the 'red light' on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) instead of the button to cast vote amused people. Later, the polling official pointed to the button and he cast his vote.

Polling was on across 234 Assembly segments in the state with over 4,000 candidates in fray.

In Coimbatore, Vellore and Dharmapuri districts, 'Robo Tina,' dressed like a cute little girl welcomed voters to the polling station and gave flowers and chocolates to the people.

Some, working in foreign countries including Singapore and in cities outside of Tamil Nadu arrived in their hometowns including Chennai to cast their votes.

At Namakkal, a "super elderly" woman, Mariaayi, reportedly 110 years old, cast her vote. Speaking to reporters, she said she had seen so many leaders including DMK founder CN Annadurai and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran in her life. At Pallipalayam in Namakkal, a 60-year old bedridden woman was brought to the polling station in an ambulance to ensure she performs her democratic duty.

Similarly, several persons with disabilities and health issues were brought in wheel chairs to the polling stations.

Election Commission arranged three boats to help villagers off the Pechiparai dam falling under the Padmanabhapuram Constituency in Kanyakumari district to reach the polling station to cast their votes.

Voters linked to Vengaivayal village in Pudukottai district boycotted polling over the incident of faeces being mixed in an overhead water tank a few years ago. They demanded justice over the incident.

At Perumpathu village in Nanguneri constituency in southern Tamil Nadu, not even single person allegedly voted for several hours to mark their protest against a double murder case.

Further, villagers near Ettayapuram in Thoothukudi district boycotted the election and their polling station (Kulathuvoypatti union primary school) under the Vilathikulam Assembly constituency wore a deserted look as only five votes were cast out of the total 983. Their boycott was due to a local dispute over using a pathway.

At this polling station, it is customary for the people of four villages—Kulathuvaipatti, Kumaragiri, Sothunaickanpatti, and Ammampadam—to cast their votes. However, this time, the people of Kulathuvaipatti and Kumaragiri villages have boycotted the election.

Sporadic, violent incidents were also reported. Booth agents clashed at Keezhavasal in Madurai and at Kalasapakkam in Tiruvannamalai, an agent of an independent candidate allegedly broke a control unit and it was replaced.

Tension prevailed at a polling booth under Arisipalayam, Salem city, during voting in view of a sudden clash between booth agents of the AIADMK and DMK.

A woman resident of Chennai in Mylapore constituency alleged she ran pillar to post to find out why her name was deleted from the voters list though she had completed the "formalities linked to SIR of electoral rolls." At Tirupattur, a TVK supporter allegedly filmed himself pressing the button in EVM favouring Vijay's party and released it in the social media. He was arrested by police. Newly married couples visited polling stations in their traditional wedding attire in several towns/ cities including Chennai, Kanchipuram, Namakkal and Krishnagiri and cast their votes.

Polling for election to 234 Assembly seats was underway across Tamil Nadu on Thursday