2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election was held on 16 May 2016 for the 232 seats (except Thanjavur and Aravakurichi for which held on 26 October 2016) of the Legislative Assembly in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. AIADMK under J. Jayalalithaa won the elections and became the first ruling party to be re-elected in Tamil Nadu since 1984, though with a reduced majority.[1] DMK won half of the seats it contested but its allies performed poorly; notably, the Indian National Congress won 16% of the seats they contested and the alliance lost due to its poor performance.[2][3][4][5] The votes were counted on 19 May 2016.[6] In the previous election in 2011, AIADMK, under the leadership of Jayalalithaa, won a simple majority and formed the government, while DMDK chief Vijayakanth served as the Leader of Opposition until January 2016. This was the last election that J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi contested, as they both died in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

16 May 2016 (2016-05-16) (232 Seats) 26 October 2016 (2 Seats)
All 234 elected seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 118 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	74.81% ( 3.48%)
First party Second party   Leader J. Jayalalithaa M. Karunanidhi Party AIADMK DMK Alliance AIADMK Alliance UPA Leader since 1989 1957 Leader's seat Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Thiruvarur Last election 150 seats 23 seats Seats won 136 89 Seat change 14 62 Popular vote 17,617,060 17,175,374 Percentage 40.88% 31.39% Swing 2.4% 9.2%
2016 Election Map (by Constituencies)
Chief Minister before election J. Jayalalithaa AIADMK Elected Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa AIADMK

Background

By the requirement, state assembly election must be held at an interval of five years or whenever it is dissolved by the president. The previous election, to the 14th legislative assembly, was conducted 13 April 2011 and its term would have naturally expired on 22 May 2016. The election to the 16th legislative assembly was organised and conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and was held in a single phase on 16 May 2016. There were over 5.79 crore voters in the electoral rolls and 65,616 polling stations in Tamil Nadu.[7]

A special purification drive of electoral rolls between 15 and 29 February 2016 in all poll-bound States including Tamil Nadu was held, in which door-to-door verification was undertaken involving booth-level agents. On 12 February 2016, Election Commission of India announced that 17 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu will have Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines attached along with EVMs.[8] Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be in place in 4,000 booths.[9]

Assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu having VVPAT facility with EVMs[10][11]
Anna Nagar	Vellore	Krishnagiri
Salem North	Erode West	Tirupur (North)
Coimbatore North	Dindigul	Tiruchirappalli West
Cuddalore	Thanjavur	Kancheepuram
Villupuram	Madurai East	Thoothukudi
Tirunulveli	Kanyakumari

Demographics

At the 2011 India census, Tamil Nadu had a population of 7,21,47,030. A total of 1,44,38,445 people constituting 20.01% of the total population belonged to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 7,94,697 people constituting 1.10% of the population belonged to Scheduled tribes (ST).[12][13][14] Other Backward Classes (OBCs) form 68% of the population.[15] As per the religious census of 2011, Tamil Nadu had 87.6% Hindus, 5.9% Muslims, 6.1% Christians, 0.1% Jains and 0.3% following other religions or no religion.[16]

Schedule

The elections were held on 16 May 2016,[17] with vote counting taking place on 19 May.[18] The elections in Kerala and Puducherry also took place on 16 May[19] but polling in two of the Tamil Nadu constituencies was postponed due to reports of voters being bribed.[20]

Event	Date
Date for Nominations	22 April 2016
Last Date for filing Nominations	29 April 2016
Date for scrutiny of nominations	30 April 2016
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures	2 May 2016
Date of poll	16 May 2016
Date of counting	19 May 2016
Date before which the election shall be completed	21 May 2016

Campaign to vote

To ensure that the electorate exercise their right to vote, the Election Commission of India (ECI) launched their own campaign in Tamil Nadu. The Chief Electoral Officer for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Rajesh Lakhoni, utilised social media platforms by creating memes and tweets themed around films, which have a huge reach in Tamil Nadu. Additionally, the Election Commission also recruited media personalities Suriya, Ashwin and Karthik, whose campaigning videos were filmed and shared on social media.[21] The Election Commission also partnered with Twitter, for the first time in India, to boost its #TN100Percent hashtag campaign. Twitter users who have made use of the hashtag will be reminded to vote on the day of voting.[22] Twitter and Facebook collaborated with ECI in its awareness campaign on striving for 100 per cent voting in the polls.[23][24]

Parties and Alliances

AIADMK Alliance

All the parties contested on "two leaves" symbol.[25]

Sl.No:	Name of the Party	Party Flag	Party Leader	Seats
1	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		J.Jayalalithaa	227
2	Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi		Thamimun Ansari	2[26]
3	Republican Party of India		C. K. Thamizharasan	1
4	Samathuva Makkal Katchi		R. Sarathkumar	1
5	Tamil Nadu Kongu Ilaingar Peravai		U. Thaniyarasu	1
6	Mukkulathor Pulipadai		Karunas	1
7	Tamil Maanila Muslim League		Sheik Dawood	1

DMK Alliance

Sl.No:	Name of the Party	Party Flag	Party Leader	Seats
1	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam[27]		Karunanidhi	176
2	Indian National Congress		EVKS Elangovan	41
3	Indian Union Muslim League		K.M. Khader Mohideen	5
4	Manithaneya Makkal Katchi		M. H. Jawahirullah	4
5	Puthiya Tamilakam		Dr. K. Krishnasamy	3
6	Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi		N.R. Dhanapalan	1
7	Tamil Nadu Peasants and Workers Party		Pon. Kumar	1
8	Samuga Samathuva Padai		V. Sivakami	1

Makkal Nala Kootani (People's Welfare Alliance)

Sl.No:	Name of the Party	Party Flag	Party Leader	Seats
1	Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam[28]		Vijayakanth	104
2	Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		Vaiko	28
3	Communist Party of India		Mutharasan	25
4	Communist Party of India (Marxist)		G. Ramakrishnan	25
5	Tamil Manila Congress		G K Vasan	26
6	Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi		Thol. Thirumavalavan	25

National Democratic Alliance

Sl.No:	Name of the Party	Party Flag	Party Leader
1	Bharatiya Janata Party		Tamilisai Soundararajan
2	Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi		T. R. Pachamuthu

Parties not in any coalition

Sl. No:	Name of the Party	Party Flag	Party Leader
1	Pattali Makkal Katchi		Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss
2	Naam Tamilar Katchi		Seeman
3	Tamilnadu Youth Party (TNYP)
4	Welfare Party of India		S. N. Sikkandar
5	Social Democratic Party of India		Mr.Thehlan Baqavi
6	Anaithu Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam		Pachathanni Manickam I.P.S
7	Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi		Panruti T. Velmurugan.
8	The Future India Party		Subi
9	All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
10	Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi		E.R.Eswaran

Candidates

On 4 April, AIADMK released its candidate list for Tamil Nadu.[29] On 14 April, DMK released its candidate list for Tamil Nadu.[30]

Gopi Shankar Madurai, a 25 years old gender activist made a bid to contest as one of the youngest candidates in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election and also the first openly Intersex & Genderqueer person to do so. Gopi contested on the ticket of newly launched outfit Anaithu Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) for Madurai North. He secured 14th place out of 21 candidates by securing 1% vote.[31][32][33][34]

Manifestos

DMK released its election manifesto on 10 April 2016.[35][36] Bharatiya Janata Party released its election manifesto on 21 April 2016.[37] On 23 March 2016, Naam Tamilar Katchi published its 316-page election manifesto 2016, a complete plan to develop TamilNadu.[38][39] Tamil Nadu Congress Committee released its election manifesto on 27 April 2016.[40] Pattali Makkal Katchi released its draft election manifesto on 15 September 2015 and final election manifesto on 15 April 2016.[41] AIADMK released its election manifesto on 5 May 2016.[42] [43]

Voter Turnout

Voter turnout for the 232 constituencies on 16 May was 74.26%.[44] Parts of Tamil Nadu received heavy rain on the polling day, but it did not deter voters from turning out to cast their votes. While the highest voter turn out was in Dharmapuri constituency recording 85% while the lowest voter turnout was in the capital of Tamil Nadu, Chennai recording 55%.[45][46]

Exit polls

Agency	ADMK	DMK+	BJP	PWF-DMDK/Others	Ref.
India Today-Axis	89–101	124–140	0–3	NA/4-8	[47]
News Nation	95–99	120-118	0–1	12-16/5-9	[48]
C Voter	139	78	0	15/2	[49]
NewsX	90	140	0	NA/4	[50]
ABP Nielsen	95	132	1	NA/6	[50]
NDTV Poll of Polls	103	120	0	NA/11	[50]
Chanakya	90	140	0	NA/4	[50]
Spick News	142	87	0	2	[51]
Thanthi TV	111	99	1	3/2	[52]

Results

The ruling ADMK, beating most of the exit polls,[53][54] was able to retain power with a comfortable majority and became the first party to win consecutive elections since 1984, a feat achieved by MGR.[55][56]

 Summary of the 2016 Tamil Nadu legislative election[57]

Parties and Coalitions		Votes	%	Seats
				Contested	Won	+/-
	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	17,806,490	40.88%	234	136	14
	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)	13,670,511	31.39%	178	89	66
	Indian National Congress (DMK)	2,774,075	6.47%	41	8	3
	Indian Union Muslim League (DMK)	313,808	0.73%	5	1	1
	Pattali Makkal Katchi	2,302,564	5.36%	234	0	3
	Bharatiya Janata Party	1,235,660	2.86%	234	0
	Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (PWF)	1,037,431	2.41%	105	0	29
	Independents	617,907	1.44%	234	0
	Naam Tamilar Katchi	460,089	1.07%	234	0
	Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (PWF)	373,713	0.87%	28	0
	Communist Party of India (PWF)	340,290	0.79%	25	0	9
	Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (PWF)	331,849	0.77%	25	0
	Communist Party of India (Marxist) (PWF)	307,303	0.72%	25	0	10
	Tamil Maanila Congress (PWF)	230,711	0.54%	26	0
	Puthiya Tamilagam (DMK)	219,830	0.51%	4	0	2
	Manithaneya Makkal Katchi	197,150	0.46%	4	0	2
	Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi	167,560	0.39%	72	0
	Bahujan Samaj Party	97,823	0.23%	n/a	0
	Social Democratic Party of India	65,978	0.15%	n/a	0
	None of the above	5,65,077	1.31%	234	–	–
Total		4,35,56,184	100.00	-	234	-
Valid votes		4,35,56,184	99.93
Invalid votes		29,507	0.07
Votes cast / turnout		4,35,85,691	74.81
Abstentions		1,46,74,574	25.19
Registered voters		5,82,60,506

Election to two assembly constituencies were cancelled by the Election Commission on confirmed reports of bribing voters in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur. Elections were held later there on 26 October 2016 [58][59]

Results by constituency

Results

#	Name	Winner	Party		Margin
1	Gummidipoondi	K. S. Vijayakumar		AIADMK	23,395
2	Ponneri	P. Balaraman		AIADMK	19,336
3	Tiruttani	P. M. Narasimhan		AIADMK	23,141
4	Thiruvallur	V. G. Raajendran		DMK	5,138
5	Poonamallee	T. A. Elumalai		AIADMK	11,763
6	Avadi	K. Pandiarajan		AIADMK	1,395
7	Maduravoyal	P. Benjamin		AIADMK	8,402
8	Ambattur	V. Alexander		AIADMK	17,498
9	Madhavaram	S. Sudarsanam		DMK	15,253
10	Thiruvottiyur	K. P. P. Samy		DMK	4,863
11	Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar	J. Jayalalithaa		AIADMK	39,545
12	Perambur	P. Vetrivel		AIADMK	519
13	Kolathur	M. K. Stalin		DMK	37,730
14	Villivakkam	B. Ranganathan		DMK	9,321
15	Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar	P. Sivakumar		DMK	3,322
16	Egmore	K. S. Ravichandran		DMK	10,679
17	Royapuram	D. Jayakumar		AIADMK	8,031
18	Harbour	P. K. Sekar Babu		DMK	4,836
19	Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni	J. Anbazhagan		DMK	14,164
20	Thousand Lights	Ku. Ka. Selvam		DMK	8,829
21	Anna Nagar	M. K. Mohan		DMK	1,086
22	Virugambakkam	V. N. Virugai Ravi		AIADMK	2,333
23	Saidapet	M. A. Subramanian		DMK	16,255
24	Thiyagarayanagar	B. Sathyanarayanan		AIADMK	3,155
25	Mylapore	R. Nataraj		AIADMK	14,728
26	Velachery	Vagai Chandrasekhar		DMK	8,872
27	Sholinganallur	Aravind Ramesh		DMK	14,913
28	Alandur	T. M. Anbarasan		DMK	19,169
29	Sriperumbudur	K. Palani		AIADMK	10,716
30	Pallavaram	I. Karunanithi		DMK	22,165
31	Tambaram	S. R. Raja		DMK	14,445
32	Chengalpattu	M. Varalakshmi		DMK	26,292
33	Thiruporur	M. Kothandapani		AIADMK	950
34	Cheyyur	R. T. Arasu		DMK	304
35	Maduranthakam	S. Pugazhenthi		DMK	2,957
36	Uthiramerur	K. Sundar		DMK	12,156
37	Kancheepuram	C. V. M. P. Ezhilarasan		DMK	7,548
38	Arakkonam	S. Ravi		AIADMK	4,161
39	Sholingur	N. G. Parthiban Mudaliar		AIADMK	9,732
40	Katpadi	Duraimurugan		DMK	23,946
41	Ranipet	R. Gandhi		DMK	7,896
42	Arcot	J. L. Eswarappan		DMK	11,091
43	Vellore	P. Karthikeyan		DMK	26,210
44	Anaikattu	A. P. Nandakumar		DMK	8,768
45	Kilvaithinankuppam	G. Loganathan		AIADMK	9,746
46	Gudiyattam	C. Jayanthi Padmanabhan		AIADMK	11,470
47	Vaniyambadi	Nilofer Kafeel		AIADMK	14,526
48	Ambur	R. Balasubramani		AIADMK	28,006
49	Jolarpet	K. C. Veeramani		AIADMK	10,991
50	Tirupattur (Vellore)	A. Nallathambi		DMK	7,647
51	Uthangarai	Manoranjitham Nagaraj		AIADMK	2,613
52	Bargur	V. Rajendran		AIADMK	982
53	Krishnagiri	T. Senguttuvan		DMK	4,891
54	Veppanahalli	P. Murugan		DMK	5,228
55	Hosur	P. Balakrishna Reddy		AIADMK	22,964
56	Thalli	Y. Prakash		DMK	6,245
57	Palacode	K. P. Anbalagan		AIADMK	5,983
58	Pennagaram	P. N. P. Inbasekaran		DMK	18,446
59	Dharmapuri	P. Subramani		DMK	9,676
60	Pappireddippatti	P. Palaniappan		AIADMK	12,713
61	Harur	R. Murugan		AIADMK	11,421
62	Chengam	M. P. Giri		DMK	12,691
63	Tiruvannamalai	E. V. Velu		DMK	50,348
64	Kilpennathur	K. Pitchandi		DMK	34,666
65	Kalasapakkam	V. Panneerselvam		AIADMK	26,414
66	Polur	K. V. Sekaran		DMK	8,273
67	Arani	Sevvoor S. Ramachandran		AIADMK	7,327
68	Cheyyar	K. Mohan		AIADMK	8,527
69	Vandavasi	Ambeth Kumar		DMK	18,068
70	Gingee	K. S. Masthan		DMK	22,057
71	Mailam	R. Masilamani		DMK	12,306
72	Tindivanam	P. Seethapathy		DMK	101
73	Vanur	M. Chakrapani		AIADMK	10,223
74	Villupuram	C. V. Shanmugam		AIADMK	22,291
75	Vikravandi	K. Rathamani		DMK	6,912
76	Tirukkoyilur	K. Ponmudy		DMK	41,057
77	Ulundurpettai	R. Kumaraguru		AIADMK	4,164
78	Rishivandiyam	K. Vasantham Karthikeyan		DMK	20,503
79	Sankarapuram	T. Udhayasuriyan		DMK	14,528
80	Kallakurichi	A. Prabhu		AIADMK	4,104
81	Gangavalli	A. Muruthamuthu		AIADMK	2,262
82	Attur	R. M. Chinnathambi		AIADMK	17,334
83	Yercaud	G. Chitra		AIADMK	17,394
84	Omalur	S. Vetrivel		AIADMK	19,956
85	Mettur	S. Semmalai		AIADMK	6,282
86	Edappadi	Edappadi K. Palanisamy		AIADMK	42,022
87	Sankari	S. Raja		AIADMK	37,374
88	Salem (West)	G. Venkatachalam		AIADMK	7,247
89	Salem (North)	R.Rajendran		DMK	9,873
90	Salem (South)	A. B. Sakthivel Mudaliar		AIADMK	30,453
91	Veerapandi	P. Manonmani		AIADMK	14,481
92	Rasipuram	V. Saroja		AIADMK	9,631
93	Senthamangalam	C. Chandrasekaran		AIADMK	12,333
94	Namakkal	K. P. P. Baskar		AIADMK	13,534
95	Paramathi-Velur	K. S. Moorthiy		DMK	818
96	Tiruchengodu	Pon. Saraswathi		AIADMK	3,390
97	Kumarapalayam	P. Thangamani		AIADMK	47,329
98	Erode (East)	K. S. Thennarasu		AIADMK	7,794
99	Erode (West)	K. V. Ramalingam		AIADMK	4,906
100	Modakkurichi	V. P. Subramani		AIADMK	2,222
101	Dharapuram	Kalimuthu V.S		INC	10,017
102	Kangayam	U.Thaniyarasu		AIADMK	13,135
103	Perundurai	N. D. Venkatachalam		AIADMK	12,771
104	Bhavani	K. C. Karuppannan		AIADMK	24,887
105	Anthiyur	K. R. Rajakrishnan		AIADMK	5,312
106	Gobichettipalayam	K. A. Sengottaiyan		AIADMK	11,223
107	Bhavanisagar	S. Eswaran		AIADMK	13,104
108	Udhagamandalam	R. Ganesh		INC	10,418
109	Gudalur	M. Thiravidamani		DMK	13,379
110	Coonoor	Ramu		AIADMK	3,710
111	Mettupalayam	O. K. Chinnaraj		AIADMK	16,114
112	Avanashi	P. Dhanapal		AIADMK	30,674
113	Tiruppur (North)	K. N. Vijayakumar		AIADMK	37,774
114	Tiruppur (South)	S. Gunasekaran		AIADMK	15,933
115	Palladam	Nadarajan		AIADMK	32,174
116	Sulur	R. Kanagaraj		AIADMK	36,631
117	Kavundampalayam	V. C. Arukutty		AIADMK	8,025
118	Coimbatore North	P. R. G. Arunkumar		AIADMK	7,724
119	Thondamuthur	S. P. Velumani		AIADMK	64,041
120	Coimbatore (South)	Amman K. Arjunan		AIADMK	17,419
121	Singanallur	N. Karthik		DMK	5,180
122	Kinathukadavu	A. Shanmugam		AIADMK	1,332
123	Pollachi	V. Jayaraman		AIADMK	13,368
124	Valparai	V. Kasthuri Vasu		AIADMK	8,244
125	Udumalaipettai	Udumali Radhakrishnan		AIADMK	5,687
126	Madathukulam	R. Jayaramakrishnan		DMK	1,667
127	Palani	I .P. Senthil Kumar		DMK	25,586
128	Oddanchatram	R. Sakkarapani		DMK	65,727
129	Athoor	I. Periasamy		DMK	27,147
130	Nilakottai	R. Thangathurai		AIADMK	14,776
131	Natham	M. A. Andi Ambalam		DMK	2,110
132	Dindigul	Dindigul C. Sreenivasan		AIADMK	20,719
133	Vedasandur	V. P. B. Paramasivam		AIADMK	19,938
134	Aravakurichi	V. Senthil Balaji		AIADMK	23,661
135	Karur	M. R. Vijayabhaskar		AIADMK	441
136	Krishnarayapuram	M. Geetha		AIADMK	35,301
137	Kulithalai	E. Ramar		DMK	11,896
138	Manapaarai	R. Chandrasekar		AIADMK	18,277
139	Srirangam	S. Valarmathi		AIADMK	14,409
140	Tiruchirappalli (West)	K. N. Nehru		DMK	28,415
141	Tiruchirappalli (East)	Vellamandi N. Natarajan		AIADMK	21,894
142	Thiruverumbur	Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi		DMK	16,695
143	Lalgudi	A. Soundara Pandian		DMK	3,837
144	Manachanallur	M. Parameswari		AIADMK	7,522
145	Musiri	M. Selvarasu		AIADMK	32,087
146	Thuraiyur	S. Stalinkumar		DMK	8,068
147	Perambalur	R. Thamizhselvan		AIADMK	6,853
148	Kunnam	R. T. Ramachandran		AIADMK	18,796
149	Ariyalur	S. Rajendran		AIADMK	2,043
150	Jayankondam	J. K. N. Ramajeyalingam		AIADMK	22,934
151	Tittakudi	V. Ganesan		DMK	2,212
152	Vriddhachalam	V. T. Kalaiselvan		AIADMK	13,777
153	Neyveli	Saba Rajendran		DMK	17,791
154	Panruti	P. Sathya		AIADMK	3,128
155	Cuddalore	M. C. Sampath		AIADMK	24,413
156	Kurinjipadi	M. R. K. Panneerselvam		DMK	28,108
157	Bhuvanagiri	K. Saravanan Durai		DMK	5,488
158	Chidambaram	Pandian K A		AIADMK	1,506
159	Kattumannarkoil	N. Murugumaran		AIADMK	87
160	Sirkazhi	P. V. Bharathi		AIADMK	9,003
161	Mayiladuthurai	V. Rathakrishnan		AIADMK	4,778
162	Poompuhar	S. Pavunraj		AIADMK	19,935
163	Nagapattinam	Thamimum Ansari		AIADMK	20,550
164	Kilvelur	U. Mathivanan		DMK	10,170
165	Vedaranyam	O. S. Manian		AIADMK	22,998
166	Thiruthuraipoondi	P. Adalarasan		DMK	13,250
167	Mannargudi	T. R. B. Rajaa		DMK	9,937
168	Thiruvarur	M. Karunanidhi		DMK	68,366
169	Nannilam	R. Kamaraj		AIADMK	21,276
170	Thiruvidaimarudur	Govi. Chezhian		DMK	532
171	Kumbakonam	G. Anbalagan		DMK	8,457
172	Papanasam	R. Doraikannu		AIADMK	24,365
173	Thiruvaiyaru	Durai Chandrasekaran		DMK	14,343
174	Thanjavur	M. Rangaswamy		AIADMK	26,874
175	Orathanadu	M. Ramachandran		DMK	3,645
176	Pattukkottai	V. Sekar		AIADMK	12,358
177	Peravurani	M. Govindarasu		AIADMK	995
178	Gandharvakottai	B. Arumugam		AIADMK	3,047
179	Viralimalai	Dr. C. Vijaya Baskar		AIADMK	8,447
180	Pudukkottai	Periyannan Arasu		DMK	2,084
181	Thirumayam	S. Regupathy		DMK	766
182	Alangudi	Siva.Ve. Meyyanathan		DMK	9,941
183	Aranthangi	E. Rathinasabhapathy		AIADMK	2,291
184	Karaikudi	Kr. Ramasamy		INC	18,283
185	Tiruppattur (Sivaganga)	A. Nallathambi		DMK	42,004
186	Sivaganga	G. Baskaran		AIADMK	6,636
187	Manamadurai	S. Mariappankennady		AIADMK	14,889
188	Melur	P. Selvam		AIADMK	19,723
189	Madurai East	Moorthy P		DMK	32,772
190	Sholavandan	K. Manickam		AIADMK	24,857
191	Madurai North	V. V. Rajan Chellappa		AIADMK	18,839
192	Madurai South	S. S. Saravanan		AIADMK	23,763
193	Madurai Central	P.T.R.Palanivel Thiagarajan		DMK	5,762
194	Madurai West	Sellur K. Raju		AIADMK	16,398
195	Thiruparankundram	S. M. Seenivel		AIADMK	22,992
196	Tirumangalam	R. B. Udhaya Kumar		AIADMK	23,590
197	Usilampatti	P.Neethipathi		AIADMK	32,906
198	Andipatti	Thanga Tamil Selvan		AIADMK	30,196
199	Periyakulam	K. Kathirkamu		AIADMK	14,350
200	Bodinayakanur	O. Panneerselvam		AIADMK	15,608
201	Cumbum	S. T. K. Jakkayian		AIADMK	11,221
202	Rajapalayam	S. Thangappandian		DMK	4,802
203	Srivilliputhur	M. Chandra Prabha		AIADMK	36,673
204	Sattur	S. G. Subramanian		AIADMK	4,427
205	Sivakasi	K. T. Rajenthra Bhalaji		AIADMK	14,748
206	Virudhunagar	A. R. R. Seenivasan		DMK	2,870
207	Aruppukkottai	K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran		DMK	18,054
208	Tiruchuli	Thangam Thennarasu		DMK	26,577
209	Paramakudi	Dr. S. Muthiah		AIADMK	11,389
210	Tiruvadanai	Karunas		AIADMK	8,696
211	Ramanathapuram	Dr. M. Manikandan		AIADMK	33,222
212	Mudhukulathur	S. Pandi		INC	13,348
213	Vilathikulam	K. Uma Maheswari		AIADMK	18,718
214	Thoothukudi	P. Geetha Jeevan		DMK	20,908
215	Tiruchendur	Anitha R. Radhakrishnan		DMK	26,001
216	Srivaikuntam	S. P. Shanmuganathan		AIADMK	3,531
217	Ottapidaram	R. Sundararaj		AIADMK	493
218	Kovilpatti	C. Kadambur Raju		AIADMK	428
219	Sankarankovil	V. M. Rajalakshmi		AIADMK	14,489
220	Vasudevanallur	A. Manoharan		AIADMK	18,758
221	Kadayanallur	K.A.M. Muhammed Abubacker		IUML	1,194
222	Tenkasi	S. Selvamohandas Pandian		AIADMK	462
223	Alangulam	Poongothai Aladi Aruna		DMK	4,754
224	Tirunelveli	A. L. S. Lakshmanan Pillai		DMK	601
225	Ambasamudram	R. Murugaiah Pandian		AIADMK	13,166
226	Palayamkottai	T. P. M. Mohideen Khan		DMK	15,872
227	Nanguneri	H. Vasanthakumar		INC	17,315
228	Radhapuram	I.Inbadurai		AIADMK	49
229	Kanniyakumari	S. Austin		DMK	5,912
230	Nagercoil	N. Suresh Rajan		DMK	20,956
231	Colachel	J. G. Prince		INC	26,028
232	Padmanabhapuram	T. Mano Thangaraj		DMK	40,905
233	Vilavancode	S. Vijayadharani		INC	33,143
234	Killiyoor	S. Rajeshkumar		INC	46,295

Top 10 Biggest Victories

Constituency	Winner	Party	Runner up	Party	Margin
Thiruvarur	Karunanidhi .M	DMK	Pannerselvam .R	AIADMK	68366
Oddanchatram	Sakkarapani.R	DMK	Kitusamy	AIADMK	65727
Thondamuthur	Velumani S P	AIADMK	Kovai Syed @ Syed Mohammed M A	MMK	64041
Tiruvannamalai	Velu E V	DMK	Rajan K	AIADMK	50348
Kumarapalayam	Thangamani.P	AIADMK	Yuvaraj P	DMK	47329
Killiyoor	Rajesh Kumar S	INC	Pon. Vijayaragavan	BJP	46295
Edappadi	Palaniswami K	AIADMK	Annadurai N	PMK	42022
Tiruppattur	Periakaruppan K R	DMK	Asokan K R	AIADMK	42004
Tirukkoyilur	Ponmudy K	DMK	Gothandaraman G	AIADMK	41057
Padhmanabhapuram	T. Mano Thangaraj	DMK	K. P. Rajendra Prasad	AIADMK	40905

Top 10 Smallest victories

Constituency	Winner	Party	Runner up	Party	Margin
Radhapuram	Inbadurai I S	AIADMK	Appavu M.	DMK	60
Kattumannarkoil	Murugumaran N	AIADMK	Thirumaavalavan Thol	VCK	87
Tindivanam	Seethapathy P	DMK	Rajendran S P	AIADMK	101
Cheyyur	Arasu R T	DMK	Munusamy	AIADMK	304
Kovilpatti	Kadambur Raju C	AIADMK	Subramanian A	DMK	428
Karur	Vijayabhaskar M R	AIADMK	Bank Subramanian K	INC	441
Tenkasi	Selvamohandas Pandian S	AIADMK	Palani Nadar S	INC	462
Ottapidaram	Sundararaj R	AIADMK	Dr.Krishnasamy K	PT	493
Perambur	Vetrivel P	AIADMK	Dhanapalan N R	Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi	519
Thiruvidaimarudur	Chezhiaan Govi	DMK	Settu U	AIADMK	532

Performance of political parties

PARTY	CONTESTED	WON	FD	VOTES	SEATS SHARE IN VALID VOTES VOTE %	! POLLED IN STATE IN SEATS % CONTESTE
STATE PARTIES
AIADMK	232	135	2	17616266	40.77%	41.06
DMDK	104	0	103	1034384	2.39%	5.42
DMK	180	88	0	13669116	31.64%	41.35
PMK	232	0	212	2300558	5.32%	5.41
STATE PARTIES – OTHER STATE
AIFB	33	0	33	44546	0.10%	0.74
AIMIM	2	0	2	10289	0.02%	2.78
IUML	5	1	0	313808	0.73%	33.28
JD(S)	2	0	2	711	0.00%	0.20
JD(U)	6	0	6	2082	0.00%	0.18
JKNPP	2	0	2	297	0.00%	0.08
LJP	23	0	23	4146	0.01%	0.10
|RJD	1	0	1	9	0 0.00%	0.05
SHS	36	0	36	13640	0.03%	0.21
SP	26	0	26	4464	0.01%	0.09
NATIONAL PARTIES
BJP	188	0	180	1228704	2.84℅	3.57
BSP	158	0	156	97823	0.23%	0.34
CPI	25	0	23	340290	0.79%	7.25
CPM	25	0	25	307303	0.71%	6.80
INC	41	8	0	2774075	6.42%	36.74
NCP	20	0	20	11842	0.03%	0.30
REGISTERED (UNRECOGNISED) PARTIES
ABHM	1	0	1	211	0.00%	0.13
AIFB(S)	2	0	2	5950	0.01%	1.52
AIJMK	3	0	3	953	0.00%	0.15	AIPMK	2	0	2	1321	0.00%	0.38	AIWUP	1	0	1	72	0.00%	0.04
AMMK	4	0	4	698	0.00%	0.09
APNP	3	0	3	428	0.00%	0.08
AUK	2	0	2	147	0.00%	0.04
CDF	1	0	1	170	0.00%	0.10
CPI(ML)(L)	10	0	10	4972	0.01%	0.23
CPIM	2	0	2	378	0.00%	0.12
DCLF	1	0	1	1411	0.00%	0.82
DMMK	1	0	1	121	0.00%	0.08
DMSK	2	0	2	199	0.00%	0.06
ETMK	6	0	6	5257	0.01%	0.45
FIP	4	0	4	1359	0.00%	0.14
GAPP	3	0	3	710	0.00%	0.14	GMI	40	0	40	11683	0.03%	0.16	−41.	GokMK	9	0	8 3357	0.01%	0.21
GPI	6	0	6	1840	0.00%	0.16

Controversies

On 3 May, News 7 and Dinamalar released an opinion poll giving an edge for DMK over AIADMK. But some editions of Dinamalar carried a statement on the first page distancing itself from the surveys.[60] In an instance VVPAT was helpful in resolving an issue pertaining to a tally of votes in Kancheepuram (State Assembly Constituency) as the number of votes entered in the Form 17C of a polling booth and the total number of votes recorded in the EVM control unit of that booth did not tally.[61]

Cash for votes

Wide spread allegations of parties bribing voters with cash were raised and the Election commission responded by increasing the number of flying squads to conduct raids and prevent distribution of cash for votes.[62][63][64] First time in the Indian history Rs 570 crores of three containers captured in Tirupur, no one claimed for that money at the first day. Later SBI claimed that money. Many parties like CPI(M), CPI, VCK, MDMK, PMK, wanted clear information about that money.

Postponement of polls

The Election Commission postponed the polls in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur constituencies due to reports of distribution of huge sums of money and alcohol to voters. The polling was initially postponed to 13 June, despite the Governor of Tamil Nadu requesting that it should happen before 1 June. The date was subsequently amended to November.

By-Election

On 26 October 2016, the Election Commission announced that the election for Thiruparankundram, Aravakurichi and Thanjavur constituencies would be held on 19 November 2016.[65] The outcome was:

Constituency	Total Voters	Polled Votes	Polled %	Winner	Party	Runner up	Party	Margin
Aravakurichi	2,00,352	1,64,582	82%	V. Senthil Balaji	AIADMK	K. C. Palanisamy	DMK	23,661
Thanjavur	2,68,757	1,86,444	69%	M. Rangaswamy	AIADMK	Anjugam Boopathy	DMK	26,874
Thiruparankundram	2,86,483	2,03,098	71%	A. K. Bose	AIADMK	Saravanan	DMK	42,670

22 by election results

See also

• Elections in India
• 2016 elections in India

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External links

• Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu
• Election Commission of India