All 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu will go to polls on Thursday, with the election campaign overshadowed by a debate around delimitation and a possible reduction in the state's share of Lok Sabha seats.
Tamil Nadu stands out from the rest of India on several aspects, including its caste makeup. The state is overwhelmingly non-upper caste, with a combined share of SC-ST-OBC population at 97.5%, the highest among all large states.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have dominated Tamil Nadu's politics for decades, with their combined vote share never falling below 54% since 1977.
While the DMK has won three back-to-back elections since 2019, the AIADMK has also had its share of winning streaks. However, neither party has a widespread geographical dominance in the state, with only 54 assembly constituencies won by either party in all three elections between 2011 and 2021.
Other parties in the state, including Congress, BJP, and the communists, have allied with both the DMK and AIADMK in different elections, highlighting the bipartisan nature of the Dravidian dominance in Tamil Nadu politics.
