Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 23 (ANI): Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin cast his vote on Thursday at a polling station located in West Mambalam Sitaraman Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai as polling for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections is underway.

He was accompanied by his wife, Prithi Narayanan. Ashwin waited for his turn in the line, showed his inked finger after casting the vote, before clicking selfies with the fans.

Speaking to ANI after casting his vote, Ashwin said, 'This is a very important election in Tamil Nadu. Just wanted to come and exercise my right. I have done my job, and now, everybody has to do theirs. Hopefully, whoever comes to power will change the face of Tamil Nadu.'

Polling is being held across Tamil Nadu as part of the ongoing Assembly elections, with several prominent personalities participating in the democratic process.

Earlier in the morning, actor Ajith Kumar and Superstar Rajnikanth cast their votes at their respective polling booths. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief and veteran actor Kamal Haasan, along with his daughter Shruti Haasan, also cast their votes.

Polling for the Assembly elections of Tamil Nadu began at 7:00 am in the morning amid tight security. The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik said that the state's electorate comprises over 5.73 crore voters, featuring 2,93,04,905 female voters, 2,80,30,658 male voters, and 7,728 third-gender voters. The poll body is also catering to 14,59,039 first-time voters and 68,501 service voters, with 4,18,541 postal votes already received. Furthermore, 62 counting centres have already been established to ensure a smooth process after the high-stakes voting concludes.

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

With the DMK banking on its Dravidian 2.0 model, the AIADMK-led NDA is fighting for a comeback. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is also set to make his electoral debut with his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which could turn the contest into a three-way fight. (ANI)