Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 23 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, along with his son, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and other family members, cast vote at a polling station in Chennai on Thursday.

As Tamil Nadu CM seeks to return to power, MK Stalin is contesting from his bastion, the Kolathur Assembly constituency.

Stalin, faces a serious multi-cornered challenge from Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) VS Babu and AIADMK's P Santhana Krishnan, along with NTK's Soundara Pandian Louther Seth. This has turned Kolathur into a high-voltage triangular contest, with actor-turned-politician Vijay's TVK attempting to disrupt traditional vote banks while the AIADMK seeks to reclaim lost ground.

Stalin's electoral track record in Kolathur remains formidable. In 2021, he secured a massive 1,05,522 votes (61.4%), defeating AIADMK's Aadi Rajaram by a staggering margin of 70,384 votes. The election saw a voter turnout of 64.63% out of 2,68,296 electors.

Udayanidhi Stalin is contesting from the Chepuak-Triplicane assembly constituency. He is up against AIADMK's Adhi Rajaram, NTK's Ayisha Begum and TVK's D Selvam.

Polling for the Assembly elections began in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (Phase 1) amid tight security on Thursday. The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today in both states.

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections are being held in a single phase today, while West Bengal will witness two phases of polling in the Assembly elections 2026, with the second phase scheduled to take place on April 29. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

Polling is being held for 234 Assembly constituencies across Tamil Nadu.

The main contest is expected between the DMK-led alliance, which includes the Indian National Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.

With the DMK banking on its welfare record, the AIADMK-led NDA is fighting for a comeback.

Actor-turned-politician Vijay is also set to make his electoral debut with his party TVK, which could turn the contest into a three-way fight. (ANI)