Tamilnadu is voting today to elect its 16th Assembly. This is a different election. It is happening in the absence of tall leaders Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. This election is an acid test for the leadership of the AIADMK and the DMK, who are testing the waters in the absence of charismatic leaders.
While AIADMK is eyeing for a hat-trick of wins, having won in 2011 and 2016 Assembly polls, the DMK, which on its own is claiming to be banking on the anti-incumbency factor, is desperate to come back to power after being in the Opposition for ten years, in what is billed as a no-holds barred contest. A total of 3,998 candidates are in the fray to elect the 16th Assembly.
Though it appeared a five-cornered contest on paper, it will once again be a two-horse race, with the main fight between the AIADMK and the DMK. Since morning, reports received from various parts of the State say voters queued up in front of polling booths in large numbers by braving the hot sun and exercised their franchise. The fate of the State will be known on 2 May, when the votes are counted.