The BJP suffered a setback in the race for the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Contrary to exit polls predicting a breakthrough for the BJP with three to five seats in the state, the DMK-led INDIA alliance scored a clean sweep in all 39 seats.
The alliance won Puducherry too. BJP's sole victory in the state was in 2014 when Pon Radhakrishnan won in Kanniyakumari. By 2019, the party's vote share had dropped to 3.66 percent.
This time, the BJP-led NDA did not fare any better. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an NDA ally, had a brief lead in Dharmapuri, but the DMK's A Mani won the seat by a margin of 21,300 votes.
In Coimbatore, BJP's state chief Annamalai lost the battle. Other notable NDA candidates, including former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam in Ramanathapuram also lost. Tamil Nadu's voter turnout this year was 69.72 percent.
In 2019, the DMK-led Congress alliance nearly swept the state, winning 38 seats. This time, the DMK is set to win in traditionally tough constituencies like Vellore, Tirunelveli, and Theni. In Theni, DMK’s Thanga Tamilselvan won by a margin of 2,78,825 votes.
The AIADMK, once an ally of the BJP, failed to open account after leaving the NDA last year. Former Chief Minister and ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam lost to IUML's Navaskani by 1,66,782 votes.
Overall, the DMK's performance contradicts the exit poll projections and shows a strong foothold in Tamil Nadu.