Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election 2024: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the poll dates for the Lok Sabha elections. The poll panel announced that the elections will begin on April 19 and will be held in seven phases, setting the stage for a two-month electoral battle. The results will be declared on June 4.
With 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, Tamil Nadu sends the highest numbers of MPs to the lower house of Parliament from the South. Out of these 39 constituencies, 32 are unreserved, and seven are reserved for candidatesbelonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs).
This time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in Tamil Nadu to expand BJP’s footprint in the southern state. The BJP is contesting the elections without an ally for the first time in the state since the AIADMK left the NDA bloc last year following a row over the party's state president, K Annamalai.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule And Phases:
The voting for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase on Friday, April 19 and the result will be announced on June 4, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar announced at a press conference in Delhi on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election 2019: Schedule And Result
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) won 38 of 39 seats, except the Puducherry constituency. In the 2019 polls, voting in Tamil Nadu was held in a single phase, covering all seats. It is believed that polling in the southern state is completed in the first half of the election due to high voter turnout and management by the Election Commission of India.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the MK Stalin-led DMK won 24 seats, Congress won eight seats, while other parties of the SPA alliance won six seats collectively. While the NDA alliance secured only one seat with the help of AIADMK.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election 2024: Prominent Candidates
This year, Tamil Nadu will witness a three-way contest between the NDA, the INDIA bloc, and the AIADMK. The Congress also sealed a seat-sharing deal with the DMK in the state. According to the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties, the Congress will contest nine of the 39 seats in the state while supporting the DMK and its allies in the rest of the constituencies. It will also contest from Puducherry this time.
Reportedly, Kanimozhi of the DMK will contest from the Thoothukkudi constituency, and A Raja from the Nilgiris.