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All 234 elected seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 118 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 73.63% ( 1.18%)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Seatwise Election Result Map | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Structure of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Sixteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election was held on 6 April 2021, to elect representatives from the 234 constituencies in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election, ending the decade-long reign of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The DMK's leader M. K. Stalin became the eighth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and the 12th Chief Minister since the 1956 reorganization. He replaced Edappadi K. Palaniswami of the AIADMK.
The poll was Tamil Nadu's first assembly election after the demises of the two most prominent Chief Ministers in the state's modern history, J. Jayalalithaa—general secretary of the AIADMK, and M. Karunanidhi—president of the DMK, who died in 2016 and 2018 respectively. With the AIADMK winning the 2016 election, Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister and served for almost six months. Upon her death, O. Panneerselvam took charge as the Chief Minister, shortly after which Palaniswami was sworn in instead in 2017, who served till the end of the 15th assembly's tenure. The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the elections to the 16th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on 26 February 2021.
The DMK continued its Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) with the Indian National Congress, the Communist parties and many others, and named Stalin as its candidate for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Office. The AIADMK joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party of the Union Government of India, with Palanisami as its Chief Ministerial candidate. The polling was held on 6 April 2021 under COVID-19 guidelines. The state recorded a voter turnout of 73.63%. Surveys before and after the polls predicted the Stalin-led SPA to win the elections with a large margin. The votes were counted on 2 May 2021; the SPA amassed 159 seats, with the DMK alone winning in 133 constituencies, securing an absolute majority for the first time in 25 years. The NDA won 75 seats, out of which 66 were of the AIADMK. The DMK formed the Government of Tamil Nadu for the sixth time; Stalin and his council of ministers were sworn in on 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu General Legislative Election 2021". 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu Assembly polls | DMK to field candidates in 174 seats". The Hindu. 9 March 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "Shah exudes confidence of NDA 'coalition govt' in Tamil Nadu post assempolls". mint. 7 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.