Tamil Nadu elections: Over 84% voter turnout

April 23, 2026, turned out to be a red-letter day in Tamil Nadu’s electoral history, as the State recorded its highest polling percentage in an Assembly election – 84.69% (as of 8 p.m. on Thursday).

According to provisional figures, over 4.85 crore people voted from 7 a.m. in all the 234 Assembly constituencies to elect the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said it was the highest polling percentage in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. “[The] ECI salutes each voter of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.”

Data from 6,411 polling stations in Tamil Nadu were not yet updated as of 8 p.m., a senior official told The Hindu. The data released were “provisional and did not include services voters and postal ballots”, the official said.

The contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the State was strongly cited by SIR critics as the primary reason behind the high polling percentage. The turnout could have been higher if not for the massive traffic snarls of south-bound public and private vehicles from Chennai along the Grand Southern Trunk Road for several hours on Wednesday night.

Throughout the day, the mood of the electorate was reflected in the shades of the voters’ attire, social media posts, and the unsuspecting kolams. The choice of the political party and candidate at the ballot was the dominant topic of discussion in almost all public places.