Data | Assembly elections 2021: DMK reclaims power in Tamil Nadu

The strong performance of the DMK-led coalition allows M.K. Stalin to become Chief Minister for the first time

DMK president M.K. Stalin gestures during a press conference after winning the Tamil Nadu state election, at the memorial of his father and late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, in Chennai, on May 2, 2021.

With wins in 159 of the 234 Assembly constituencies, the DMK-led coalition managed a strong victory over the AIADMK-led coalition .

The AIADMK improved significantly on its poor performance over the 2019 election, by regaining its strongholds in the West and was bolstered by its allies' performance in the north-central region. But the DMK's alliance was more coherent than in 2016. The DMK did well across the State while its ally, the Congress, also managed to improve its strike rate compared to 2016.

The DMK-led coalition managed to trounce its opponents across the rural/urban divide and also did well in seats where farming is intensive.

In the AIADMK-led coalition, the PMK fared much better compared to its performance in 2016 and 2019, garnering a strong vote share in seats it contested, very close to the AIADMK's 38.2%. The BJP managed the lowest vote share among the parties in both the coalitions.

Among parties outside the two coalitions, Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi got a 6.5% vote share, trumping T.T.V. Dhinakaran's AMMK (3.4%) and Kamal Haasan's MNM (2.9%). These parties, however, didn't win a seat.

Mapping the results

The map shows the seats won by each alliance in the 2021 and 2016 elections.

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Assembly segments won/led

 

Vote share %

 

Region-wise vote%

The DMK+ dominated the Cauvery delta and upper north regions while the Western region remained an AIADMK+ bastion.

 

Farmer-intensive seats vote %

The DMK+ secured 47% votes in seats where >35% people draw their main income from farming, while the AIADMK+ got only 40%.

 

Reserved seats

The DMK+'s vote share was slightly lower than AIADMK+'s in seats reserved for STs.

 

Win margins

This election was much closer for the DMK+ compared to 2019. In 34 seats, the margin was less than 5%.

 

Vote share ranges

DMK+ won most of its seats with a vote share between 40 and 50%. The seats where it won >50% were fewer.

 

Rural/urban vote%

The AIADMK combine increased its vote share across rural/urban segments, but still fell short of the DMK.