Counting of votes began in 39 Lok Sabha constituencies and the lone parliamentary seat in Puducherry at 8am on Friday along with other constituencies across the country. Counting is on Alandur assembly segment which went for a bypoll on April 24.
Here we bring you live updates from counting centres across the state and Puducherry.
8: 12 pm: G Hari of the AIADMK defeated senior advocate and DMK candidate N R Elango by a margin of 2.4 lakh votes in Arakkonam constituency.
8: 10 pm: Maragatham Kumaravel of the AIADMK won by a margin of 1.46 lakh votes in Kancheepuram. Her nearest rival, G Selvam, polled 3.5 lakh votes.
8: 05 pm: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said she was overwhelmed by the historic verdict for the party on Friday, which happened to be her present government’s third anniversary. "It is a double delight for me," she said in an official statement.
7 40 pm: AIADMK candidates J Jeyasingh Thiyagaraj Natterjee (Tuticorin) and K Kamaraj (Kallakurichi) have been declared elected. Sitting MP M Thambidurai of AIADMK has retained his Karur seat.
7: 15 pm: AIADMK candidate M Chandrakasi defeated VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan by a margin of 1.28 lakh votes in Chidambaram constituency. Chandrakasi polled 4.29 lakh votes.
6: 50 pm: All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan defeated Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy by 60,854 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 2,55,826 votes followed by Narayanasamy with 1,94,972 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam finished third, polling 1,32,657 votes. All the 27 other candidates including DMK, PMK, AAP and CPI and independents lost their deposits. Read more
6:25 pm: M Vasanthi of AIADMK trounced PT’s K Krishnasamy in Tenkasi LS seat by a margin of 1.61 lakh votes.
6:20 pm: AIADMK’s VNP Venkatraman won the Alandur byelection by a margin of 18,708 votes against DMK’s R S Bharathi. Read more
5:55 pm: Former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK lost to AIADMK candidate S R Vijayakumar in South Chennai by a margin of 46,300 votes.
5: 45 pm: AIADMK is all set to bag all three Chennai constituencies. S R Vijayakumar (Chennai Central), T G Venkatesh Babu (Chennai North) and J Jayavardhan (Chennai South) are emerging victorious after neck and neck contest with DMK and BJP candidates.
5:35 pm: AIADMK’s B Senguttuvan (Vellore) and K R P Prabakaran (Tirunelveli) are declared winners.
5:30 pm: Former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK is trailing by over 40,000 votes to S R Vijayakumar of the AIADMK.
5: 10 pm: Sitting MP A K S Vijayan of the DMK lost to AIADMK’s K Gopal in Nagapattinam by a margin of 1.06 lakh votes.
4:50 pm: AIADMK candidates P Venugopal (Tiruvallur), G Hari (Arakkonam) and P R Sundaram (Namakkal) topping the list with a margin of over two lakh in Tamil Nadu.
4:40 pm: All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan leads by 60,854 votes in Puducherry. He polled 2,55,826 votes as against Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy, who polled 1,94,972 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 1,32,657 votes. So far 7,40,053 votes have been counted.
4:30 pm: AIADMK candidate V N P Venkatraman was leading in the by-election to the Alandur assembly constituency on Friday. The contest in the seat was mainly between Venkatraman and DMK’s R S Bharathi, who was a four-time chairman of the Alandur municipality. At the end of the 7th round, Venkatraman got 26,207 votes while Bharathi secured 20,260 votes. The by-poll was necessitated by the resignation of DMDK MLA Panrutty S Ramachandran, who later joined the AIADMK.
4:10 pm: PMK leader S Ramadoss greeted the NDA on its victory in the Lok Sabha elections. "You are the architect of this victory that has secured majority for a political party after a gap of three decades (in the country)," Ramadoss said in a communique to BJP leader Rajnath Singh.
4:00 pm: DMK president M Karunanidhi accepted the party’s defeat with ‘bowed head.’ "DMK has seen defeats like this and massive victories than any other parties," he said. Recalling DMK founder and former chief minister Annadurai’s advice that "not go crazy on victories or get bogged down by losses," the DMK leader said the party would continue to work to win people’s confidence. Karunanidhi extended wishes to BJP for having registered a landslide victory in the country, especially its PM nominee Narendra Modi.
3: 40: pm: MDMK leader Vaiko congratulated Narendra Modi on the party’s landslide victory in the general elections. "As Modi wave was sweeping in most of the constituencies, people have voted for NDA alliance for a massive victory, and for the BJP to get a majority on its own," he said.
3:15 pm: In Virudhunagar, MDMK leader Vaiko is trailing by 52,435 votes to DMK’s T Radhakrishnan.
3:05 pm: Former Union minister R Raja lost the Lok Sabha elections to C Gopalakrishnan of the AIADMK in the Nilgiris constituency in Tamil Nadu. C Gopalakrishnan swept the poll with a huge margin of 1,04,940 votes which is at least 20,000 more than what Raja got in the 2009 elections. While Raja, an accused in the 2G scam, polled 3,58,760 votes, Gopalakrishnan got 4,63,700 votes.
2: 55 pm: Karti P Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, has been pushed to fourth slot in Sivaganga LS seat. He polled 14,530 votes.
2: 45 pm: With 90 percent of counting over, AIADMK candidate C Gopalakrishnan is leading in the Nilgiris constituency. DMK’s A Raja is lagging behind with about 91315 votes.
2: 35 pm:All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan leads by 23,396 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 1,95,433 votes as against Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy, who polled 1,72,037 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 1,02,378 votes. So far 5,95, 847 votes have been counted.
2: 20 pm: DMK’s A Raja trails by 79,811 votes in the Nilgiris. His rival C Gopalakrishnan polled 3,92,276 votes. Raja got 3,12,465 votes.
Jayalalithaa rules out possibility of joining Modi-led govt
2: 10 pm: C Mahendran of the AIADMK leads with 82,086 votes followed by E R Easwaran of the BJP in second place with 51,398 votes and Pongalur Palanisamy of DMK with 36,717 votes is in the third place. As many as 2146 NOTA votes cast in the constituency.
1: 50 pm: All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan leads by 18,369 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 1,72,797 votes as against Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy, who polled 1,54,428 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 88,449 votes. So far 5,23,115 votes have been counted.
1:30 pm: With counting of 7,00,887 polled votes over, DMK’s A Raja trails by 63,616 votes in the Nilgiris. His rival C Gopalakrishnan polled 341 296 votes.
Selection of unfit candidates to blame for DMK’s debacle in Lok Sabha elections: Alagiri
1: 20 pm: Jayalalithaa rules out possibility of joining Modi-led govt
1:06 pm: All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan leads by 6,350 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 1,37,039 votes as against Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy, who polled 1,30,689 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 73,508 votes. So far 4,24,163 votes have been counted.
1: 05 pm: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa thanked the people in state for the party’s massive vistory in the Lok Sabha elections. "I would like to thank my beloved people of Tamil Nadu for its massive victory which they have given to the AIADMK. This is a historic, unparallelled and unprecedented victory. The AIADMK has achieved this victory on its own without any partners in an alliance with it. At this point of time, I would like to thank who have worked hard and sincerely for the victory of our party candidates. I also wish to thank the people of Tamil Nadu for having bestowed on the AIADMK the distinction of emerging as the third largest party in Parliament in the country."
1:00 pm: Senior DMK leaders S Jagathrakshakan (Sriperumbudur), T R Baalu (Thanjavur), A K S Vijayan (Nagapattinam), Dayanidhi Maran (Chennai Central) and A Raja (Nilgiris) trailing behind AIADMK candidates.
12:50 pm: Sitting AIADMK MP P Venugopal leads 56,674 votes in Tiruvallur
‘Where did all votes we cast go,’ ask dejected DMK men
12: 48 pm: With eighth round of counting over DMK’s A Raja polled 1,67,643 but trails by 45,841 votes. His rival, C.Gopalakrishnan polled 2,13,484.
12: 47 pm: DMK chief M Karunanidhi congratulated BJP prime ministerial Narendra Modi. "We accept people’s mandate," was all he had to say. Initial trends show the Dravidian major draw blank in Tamil Nadu.
12: 47 pm: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief B S Gnanadesikan congratulated BJP for the party’s landslide victory in April 24 general elections.
12:45 pm: PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss is leading by a margin of 32,020 votes in the Dharmapuri constituency over his nearest rival P S Mohan of the AIADMK at 12.39pm.
12:40 pm: PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss is leading by a margin of 32,020 votes in the Dharmapuri constituency over his nearest rival P S Mohan of the AIADMK at 12.39pm.
12:35 pm: All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan leads by 567 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 1,07,067 votes as against his nearest rival Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy, who polled 1,06,500 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 56,559 votes. So far 3,35,528 votes have been counted.
12: 30 pm: DMK’s A Raja trails by 44,345 votes with seven rounds of counting over. 17,258 voters polled NOTA.
"We have the heart to bear anything," says 92-year-old DMK leader K Anbazhagan on party’s debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
12: 20 pm: MDMK chief Vaiko trails by 21,053 votes behind AIADMK’s T Radhakrishnan.
12:15 pm: The AIADMK is leading in all the three Lok Sabha seats in Chennai. In Chennai Central, former minister Dayanidhi Maran is trailing by 15,270 votes against AIADMK’s S R Vijakumar. AIADMK’s T G Venkatesh Babu is leading by 13,023 votes in Chennai North constituency. In Chennai South, AIADMK’s J Jayavardhan is leading by 13,635 votes in Chennai South constituency.
12:10 pm: With about 30 percent votes being counted, DMK’s A Raja trails by 30,961 votes to AIADMK candidate C Gopalkrishnan. Number of NOTA votes polled is about 14,528.
12:02 pm: After the second round of counting in Tirupur Lok Sabha constituency, AIADMK’s V Sathyabhama bagged 45,763 votes followed by DMDK’s Dhineshkumar with 25,174 votes. DMK’s M Senthilnathan is with 21,246 votes. Senior Congress leader EVKS Elangovan is trailing by 5467 votes.
11:58 am: Congress MLA and senior leader S Vijayadharani said the results reflected the need for change of government at the Centre. "The brute majority may hold good for BJP, but not for people," she said.
11:52 am: With about 2,67,408 of votes counted in the Nilgris constituency, DMK’s A Raja polled 1,023,78 while his rival AIADMK candidate C.Gopalkrishnan polled 1,35,178 votes. About 30 percent of polled votes have been counted. Total number of votes polled in the constituency is 9,30,410.
11:45 am: The Tamil Nadu unit of BJP begins celebrations with band music and dance as the party leads in 257 seats across the country.
11:40 am: Over 6,000 NOTA votes polled in Central Chennai. DMK candidate and former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran in the fray.
11: 35 am: AIADMK candidate A Arumozhidevan leads by 22,594 votes in Cuddalore parliamentary constituency. He polled 45,971 votes followed by his nearest rival DMK candidate K Nandagopalakrishnan, who polled 23,377 votes.
11:30 am: With fourth round of counting over, DMK’s A Raja trails by 29,110. He polled 81,099, while C.Gopalakrishnan of AIADM polled 1,10,209 votes.
11: 25 am BJP state president Pon Radhakrishnan surged ahead of Congress’s H Vasanthakumar in Kanyakumari. Radhakrishnan got 23,336 votes as against Vasanthakumar’s 19,453.
11:20 am: Finance minister P Chidambaram’s son and Congress candidate in Sivaganga constituency Karti P Chidambaram has got just 1,171 votes, coming a distant fourth behind AIADMK, DMK and BJP candidates.
11: 15 am: AIADMK leads in 32 out of 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. BJP and PMK lead in one each.
11: 11 am: Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy leads by 9,978 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 71,857 votes as against his nearest rival All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan 61,879 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 36,930 votes. So far 2,11,575 votes have been counted.
11: 10 am: After second round of counting, AIADMK’s Anwar Rajah secured the margin of 8,585 votes in Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency. Rajah secured 26,897 votes against DMK’s Mohammed Jaleel who is trailing second with 18,312 votes. BJP’s Kuppuramu was in third place with 9972 votes while Congress candidate, S Thirunavukkarasu secured 6,638 votes.
11: 05 am: AIADMK candidate R Parthiban secured 28, 614 votes in the first round and leading in the constituency after the first round. He is ahead of DMK candidate Pon Muthuramalingam by 16, 869 votes. Pon Muthuramalingam secured 11745 votes. MDMK state propaganda secretary K Azhagu Sundaram is in third position with 6,239 votes and Congress candidate and sitting MP J M Aaron Rashid secured just 2,770 votes. NOTA received 395 votes.
11: 05 am: With the third round of counting over, DMK’s A Raja trails by 19,421. He polled 61,575 votes while AIADMK candidate C Gopalakrishnan polled 80,996 votes.
11: 02 am: DMK agents started leaving from many counting centres in Tamil Nadu after the party’s poor show in the elections.
11:00am: AIADMK has secured clear margin in Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency with the party candidate K R P Prabakaran securing 65,732 votes after third round of counting. DMK’s Devadasa Sundaram trails in second place with 40,246 votes while DMDK’s S Sivananenthaperumal is in third place with 17903 votes. Congress is in fourth place with 10,819 votes. After second round, Prabakaran was at 47405 votes while DMK candidate has secured 26,976 votes.
10:58 am: AIADMK’s Vasanthi Murugesan secured handsome lead with 50,060 votes in Tenkasi pushing dalit leader and Puthiya Tamilagam party founder K Krishnasamy to second place with 24823 votes.
10:55 am: Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy leads by 11,983 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 60,743 votes as against his nearest rival All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan 48,760 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 25,213 votes. So far 1,66,966 votes have been counted.
10:52 am: After two rounds of counting, AIDMK’s Jeyasingh Thiyagaraj Natterjee leads in Tuticorin with 5,2521 votes while DMK’s Jegan P trails with 37,323 votes and MDMK’s S Joel is at third place with 23,804 votes.
10:50 am: Anti-nuclear activist and AAP candidate in Kanyakumari S P Udayakumar is trailing behind Congress, BJP, AIADMK, DMK and CPM candidates in Kanyakumari constituency with just 268 votes.
10:49 am: After the first round of results in Dindigul constituency, AIADMK candidate M Udayakumar is leading by 7,875 votes. AIADMK secured a total of 27, 758 votes as of now, while DMK candidate and former deputy speaker S Gandhirajan has secured 19, 883. DMDK candidate A Krishnamoorthy and Congress’s NSV Chittan are in third and fourth places respectively.
10:47 am: DMK’s A Raja trails by 13 514 votes in Nilgiri constituency
10:46 am: DMK leader T R Baalu trails behind K Parasuraman of AIADMK by 3,862 votes in Thanjavur.
10:45 am: PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss leads by a margin of 13,196 votes in Dharmapuri.
10:38 am: Buoyant AIADMK cadres burst crackers near the residence of chief minister J Jayalalithaa in Poes Garden and party headquarters.
10: 35 am: AIADMK leads in 21 out of 39 constituencies. VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan leads in Chidambaram.
10: 30 am: As many as 883 people opted for NOTA in Madurai constituency where AIADMK has registered a strong lead with 28339 votes followed by DMK that has polled 15263 votes.
10:20 am: The crowd is swelling in Poes Garden (the residence of chief minister J Jayalalithaa), and security personnel find it hard to manage the scene. Buoyant AIADMK men and women thronged the roads leading to Jayalalithaa’s residence with sweets. Several of them holding aloft AIADMK flags and plastic leaves rejoicing the party’s victory in the initial rounds of counting. Some painted two leaves on their bodies with heads shaved like a two leaves.
10: 25 am: AIADMK records a strong lead in Dindigul with 27,758 votes followed by DMK 19,883 votes.
10: 18 am: Media personnel protested against officials at the counting centre at the Government College of Technology in Lok Sabha constituency in Coimbatore. Media personnel alleged that they were not being allowed inside the centre.
10: 15 am: In Ramanathapuram constituency, AIDMK’s Anwar Rajah has secured the margin of 2164 votes against his rival DMK’s Mohammed Jaleel who secured 8089 votes after the first round. Anwar Rajah has secured 10,253 votes. BJP’s Kuppu Ramu is trailing in third place with 3,395 votes. The Congress is in fourth place with 1635 votes.
DMK headquarters in Chennai wears a deserted look
10:10 am: In Tenkasi constituency, ADMK’s Vasanthi Murugesan has secured 2,7208 votes after the first round while Puthia Tamilagam’s K Krishnasamy is trailing second with 15934 votes. MDMK’s Sadhan Tirumalaikumar is trailing third with 10261 votes and Congress and CPI securing fourth and fifth places.
10: 05am : AIADMK leads in 21 out of 39 constituencies. VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan leads in Chidambaram LS seat. Read more
10: 00 am: MDMK leader Vaiko is lagging behind AIADMK candidate Radhakrishnan in Virudhunagar constituency.
9: 55 pm:Initial trends show the ruling AIADMK has established leads in most of the constituencies in Tamil Nadu, including the three high-profile constituencies in Chennai.
9: 50 pm: Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy is leading by 5,939 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He polled 22,779 votes as against his nearest rival All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan’s 16,840 votes. AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam polled 11,468 votes. So far over 63,253 votes have been counted.
9:45 pm: G Hari of the AIADMK is leading by a margin of 2,265 votes in Arakkonam constituency over his rival N R Elango of the DMK.
9:40 am: K R P Prabhakaran of the AIADMK is leading over Devadasa Sundaram of the DMK by a margin of 3,426 votes in Tirunelveli.
9:35 am: A C Shanmugam of the BJP is leading B Senguttuvan of the AIADMK by a margin of 273 votes at the end of postal ballot counting in the Vellore constituency in Tamil Nadu.
9:30 am: In the Nilgiris, the 2G-tainted A Raja trails by 7,562 votes behind AIADMK candidate C Gopalakrishnan in the first round.
9: 25 am: In Tirunelveli, Prabakaran K R P of AIADMK leading Devadasa Sundaram of DMK by 1,473
9: 20 am: In Pambalur, R P Marutharajaa, of AIADMK is leading with a margin of 2,229 votes.
9:15 am: In Nilgiri constituency formwer minister A Raja, accused in 2G scam, is trailing trails by 4,000 to AIADMK’s C Gopalakirishnan.
9: 10 am: In Salem, V Pannerselvam of AIADMK leads by 1512 votes.
9: 05 am: The AIADMK is leading in 13 seats and Congress and BJP are leading in one seat each.
8:55 am: AIADMK candidate M V Omalingam leads in Nedungadu assembly constituency in Karaikal in Puducherry after first round of counting of votes. Omalingam polled 5,600 votes followed by Congress candidate V Narayanasamy 1,830 votes, All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan 992 votes and DMK 850 votes.
8:45 am: Union minister of state for PMO and Congress candidate V Narayanasamy is leading by 1,950 votes in Puducherry parliamentary constituency. He has polled 4,114 votes as against his nearest rival All India NR Congress candidate R R Radhakrishnan who polled 2,164 votes. So far over 8,329 votes have been counted.
8:30 am: AIADMK’s J Jayavardhan is leading in South Chennai. BJP’s L Ganesan in trailig.
8:00 am: Counting begins. Postal ballots were taken up for counting at first. EVMs would be opened after the completion counting of postal ballots
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