2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

←  2006 13 April 2011 [1] 2016  →
All 234 seats in the Legislature of Tamil Nadu 118 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	78.29% (7.73%)
First party Second party   Leader J. Jayalalithaa M. Karunanidhi Party AIADMK DMK Alliance AIADMK Alliance+LF UPA+DPA Leader since 1989 1969 Leader's seat Srirangam Thiruvarur Last election 69 seats 163 seats Seats before 73 160 Seats won 203 31 Seat change 130 129 Popular vote 19,085,762 14,530,215 Percentage 51.93% 39.50% Swing 12.02pp 5.30pp
Party wise results Alliance wise results
Chief Minister before election M. Karunanidhi DMK Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa AIADMK

The Fourteenth Legislative Assembly Election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members from 234 constituencies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Results were released on 13 May 2011. Two major parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) faced the election as coalitions of multiple political parties: DMK front consisted of 8 parties and the AIADMK of 11 parties. Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which had contested the previous elections independently, allied with the AIADMK coalition. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam boycotted the election following a disagreement with Jayalalithaa over seat-sharing. The outgoing Karunanidhi government was noted for the construction of new assembly building in Chennai, execution of various developmental projects, and implementation of programmes including free health care for the poor and issuance of a range of freebies such as color television to all. However, these were heavily overshadowed by other major issues such as incessant power cuts in households and industries, excessive sand mining, increasing prices of essential items, 2G spectrum case and undue influence of Karunanidhi's extended family in various aspects of Tamil politics and business and even media.

The election commission enforced stringent measures to curb the widespread abuse of power to bribe voters that were common in previous elections; it also imposed strict campaign discipline by imposing the 10 PM curfew. The commission headed by the chief election officer Praveen Kumar was commended for conducting the election strictly and fairly. The election recorded the highest polling ever in the state - 77.8% of the total electorate voted in the election surpassing 76.57% polled in 1967 election.

AIADMK front won the election-winning in 203 constituencies; the AIADMK party alone secured a massive majority in a landslide by carrying 150 seats and became eligible to form the government without requiring the support of its coalition partners. DMDK won 29 seats, more than the 23 seats won by DMK, and opted to serve as the official opposition party. Political analysts concluded that the election was a referendum on the outgoing DMK government and the powerful anti-incumbency sentiment helped the AIADMK coalition. J. Jayalalithaa along with 33 ministers was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the fourth time on 16 May 2011 by the governor Surjit Singh Barnala.

Background

Rising food prices was an important issue in this election, especially for the poor who make up a large portion of the ruling parties' electorate

The Karunanidhi administration was noted for various developmental projects and generous spending of the tax money for the implementation of various free schemes and issuance of freebies: The government provided 1 kg rice for 1 rupee, free health insurance for poor, free colour television and gas stove for all. It also provided job for over 500,000 people in various departments of the government and introduced free concrete house scheme for the poor. It also implemented various road, bridge and drinking water projects in Chennai and all over Tamil Nadu. However, the election was dominated by four major issues, increase in price of essential commodities, 2G spectrum case, Power outage and nepotism. Inflation was high during late 2010 to early 2011; The price of food and other essential commodities had increased exponentially affecting middle class and poor people: Onions were sold for Rs. 100, tomatoes for Rs. 80 and Jasmine flower for Rs. 1200 per kilo gram. This historical rise in price of essential food items was believed to be due to increased rainfall in North Indian states. ^{[2] [3]} The key issue that affected the people was electricity shortage in the State. ^{[4] [5] [6]} The 2G spectrum case involved the issue of 122 licenses of the 2G spectrum to 85 companies including many new telecom companies with little or no experience in the telecom sector at a price set in the year 2001. The case was alleged to have costed 677.19 billion ₹ (US$15.03 billion) to the Indian exchequer. A. Raja, Union telecommunications minister from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the case. Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha member from DMK and Chief minister's daughter and Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV were also included in the chargesheet filed by CBI. The five years of Karunanidhi's rule also saw an undue influence of his extended family members in various aspects of Tamil business and politics ^[7] In late 2010, Jayalalithaa as an opposition leader held three big rallies to protest against the price rise and policies of UPA Government at the Centre and DMK Government in the State. The public meetings took place at Coimbatore on July 13, Trichy on August 14 and Madurai on October 18. These rallies drew lakhs of people, were seen as the shows of strength by the AIADMK ahead of the 2011 Assembly Election. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

Parties and coalitions

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam coalition

Electoral alliances began to take shape in late 2010. J. Jayalalithaa, the leader of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) characterised the election as a turning point in Tamil Nadu history similar to 1967 election. She was alluding to the major political changes that took place in Tamil Nadu after 1967 election in which Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam defeated Indian National Congress for the first time and subsequently, Congress has then never won an election in the state until date. ^[12]

Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, political wing of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) constituted a five-member committee to hold consultations with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for seat sharing. The party had decided to support AIADMK in a resolution adopted at a high-level meeting citing deteriorating law and order and corruption. ^[13] Naam Tamilar Iyakkam coordinator Seeman also expressed his support for AIADMK on 10 January and said his decision is based on his opposition to INC which he claimed works against the interests of Sri Lankan Tamils. ^[14] Cho Ramaswamy, founder of Thuglak magazine, was actively involved in the formation of alliances. He supported AIADMK and encouraged other parties to do so as well. On the 41st anniversary of the founding of Thuglak on 14 January, he delivered an address that strongly opposed ruling DMK party. He encouraged Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) to forge an alliance with AIADMK. ^[15] Communist Party of India Tamil Nadu state secretary D. Pandian also called for DMDK to join the AIADMK coalition to defeat DMK ^[16] and officially announced the continuation of CPI's coalition with AIADMK on 29 January. ^[17] Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) announced its decision to contest the election with AIADMK on 25 January. ^[18]

Despite the strained relationship between Indian National Congress (INC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), ^[19] AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa ruled out coalition with INC on 19 January. ^[20] Tamil actor Karthik announced his party's (Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi) support to AIADMK after meeting Jayalalithaa on 19 January. ^[21] Hindu Munnani leader Rama Gopalan ruled out support to AIADMK coalition on 20 January citing the participation of anti-Hindu forces in the fold. ^[22] DMDK officially announced their alliance with AIADMK and started their negotiations. This brought to an end the possibilities of third front and DMDK contesting the elections on their own. ^[23]

Vijay's Makkal Iyakkam supported AIADMK Front. He delivered a speech in a rally attended by an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in Nagapattinam on 22 February condemning the actions of Sri Lankan military against Tamil Nadu fishermen. ^{[24] [25]} S. A. Chandrasekhar, noted film director and father of actor Vijay met with Jayalalithaa three times during the run-up to the election and announced Makkal Iyakkam's decision to support the AIADMK front in Tiruchirappalli on 27 March. ^{[26] [27]}

Seat allotment

In the middle of March, amidst discussion to finalise the allocation of constituencies, AIADMK surprised its allies by unilaterally deciding the 160 constituencies in which it will field candidates. The list included constituencies won by the CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc and Pudhiya Thamizhagam in the previous election. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) was not allotted any constituency. ^[28] After the coalition partners threatened to form a third front under DMDK, AIADMK gave in to their demands. Most of the seats AIADMK took from its alliance partners were given back bringing the standoff to an end. ^[29] However MDMK was not given the number of seats it asked for and hence Vaiko left AIADMK led alliance and boycotted the elections. ^[30]

The final seat allotment was:

Election map based on parties contesting under the AIADMK alliance. Colours are based on the AIADMK front table on the left

S.No	Party		Election Symbol	Leader	Seats	Ref.
1.		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		J. Jayalalithaa	160	[31]
2.		Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam		Vijayakant	41	[32]
3.		Communist Party of India		Tha Pandian	10	[33]
4.		Communist Party of India (Marxist)		G. Ramakrishnan	12	[33]
5.		Manithaneya Makkal Katchi		M. H. Jawahirullah	3	[34]
6.		Puthiya Tamilagam		Dr. Krishnaswamy	2	[35]
7.		All India Forward Bloc		P. V. Kathiravan	1	[36]
Unregistered parties, whose candidates ran under the AIADMK ticket
8.		All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi		R. Sarathkumar	2	[37]
9.		Republican Party of India		C. K. Thamizharasan	1	[35]
10.		All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam		N. Sedhuraman	1	[35]
11.		Tamil Nadu Kongu Ilaignar Peravai		U.Thaniyarasu	1	[38]

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam coalition

PMK poster in Chennai
DMK was hoping to gain votes among the Vanniyar community with the addition of PMK, but that failed to materialise since they could only win 3 seats from 18 seats it won in 2006. With a disappointing performance in this election and losing all of the seats contested in 2009 Lok Sabha election when it allied with AIADMK, PMK is proving to no longer be an important player in Tamil Nadu politics

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. V. Thankabalu confirmed the continuation of his party's alliance with DMK on 21 January. ^[39] DMK pulled out of the ruling coalition at the centre on 5 March amid disagreements with Congress over seat sharing. ^[40] After three days, the parties struck a deal in which DMK gave in to the demand and allowed Congress to contest in 63 seats. ^[41] Abdul Rahman, Member of Parliament from Vellore constituency announced the continuation of Indian Union Muslim League's coalition with DMK on 24 January 2011. ^[42] After meeting Karunanidhi at his home on 16 January, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said his party will work for the victory of DMK coalition. ^[43] In a speech given during the wedding of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Periyakaruppan's son in Chennai, Karunanidhi expressed his desire to step down from Chiefministership and continue as the leader of the party. ^[44] Karunanidhi, during his trip to New Delhi for attending Chief Ministers meeting on 30 January, said that Indian National Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal, Muslim League and Pattali Makkal Katchi are in the DMK coalition. ^[45] But Ramadoss, the leader of PMK denied that and said no final decision has been taken on coalition. ^[46] However PMK later joined the DMK alliance and was allotted 31 seats. It was later reduced to 30 to accommodate Congress which was firm on contesting 63 seats. Mylapore MLA and actor-turned politician S. V. Shekhar, joined Congress on 6 February 2011 after being expelled from AIADMK in 2009. ^[47] Although Mylapore constituency was allotted to congress party, it did not give the chance to S.V. Shekhar. Instead the party allotted it to Jayanthi Thangabalu, the wife of TN Congress president K.V. Thangabalu. However her nomination was rejected by election commission citing incomplete submission of relevant documents. The nomination of K.V. Thangabalu, who was the replacement candidate was accepted making him the official congress candidate. ^[48]

Seat allotment

Upset over the tough posture adopted by the Congress during the seat-sharing negotiations, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on 5 March decided to pull out its Ministers from the Union government and provide only issue-based support. A resolution to this effect was adopted at a meeting of the high-level committee of the party at Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters. ^[49] But after days of intense bargaining, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress on 9 March struck a deal, under which the Congress would contest 63 seats. ^[50]

The final seat allotment was:

Election map based on parties contesting under the DMK alliance. Colours are based on the DMK front table on the left

No.	Party		Election Symbol	Leader	Seats	Ref.
1.		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi	119	[51]
2.		Indian National Congress		K. V. Thangkabalu	63	[51]
3.		Pattali Makkal Katchi		Dr. Ramdoss	30	[51]
4.		Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi		Thol. Thirumavalavan	10	[51]
5.		Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam		'Best' S.Ramasamy	7	[51]
Unregistered parties, whose candidates ran under the DMK ticket
6.		Indian Union Muslim League		K.M. Khader Mohideen	3	[51]
7.		Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam		G.M. Sreedhar Vandaiyar	1	[51]
8.		Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi		N.R. Dhanabalan	1	[51]

Notes: Vithudalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Used Both Candles and Television symbol.

BJP Seat Allotment

Party		Election symbol	Leader	Seats Contested
	Bharatiya Janata Party		Pon. Radhakrishnan	204
	Janata Party		Subramanian Swamy	10
	Janata Dal (Secular)		N. S. M. Gowda	5

Other parties and associations

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) boycotted the election following its withdrawal from the AIADMK alliance as AIADMK did not award the party any coalition constituency. ^[52] Makkal Sakthi Katchi, the party founded by Jayaprakash Narayan contested in 35 constituencies in 18 districts. Some of the candidates of the party were members/coordinators from the non-government organisation 5th Pillar who were famous for issuing zero rupees notes to fight corruption. The party was headed in Tamil Nadu by a steering committee composed of six people including Vijay Anand of 5th Pilar. ^{[53] [54]}

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) although a major force in North India had struggled to make a foothold in Tamil Nadu . BJP leader L.Ganesan declared on 13 January that BJP will go alone in the elections . ^[55] BJP announced its Candidate list on 18 March. ^[56] Subramanian swamy leader of Janata Party announced JP will face the elections in alliance with BJP and will contest in 10 seats. ^[57] JD(U) has announced it will contest 8 seats in alliance with BJP. ^[58]

Tamil film actor Karthik's Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi entered the election as a member of AIADMK coalition. When no seat was allocated to his party by AIADMK, he decided to contest the election alone in 25 to 40 seats. ^[59] His party with sizeable Thevar votes in southern Tamil Nadu is believed to eat into the AIADMK votebank. In 2006, former AIADMK minister Nainar Nagendran lost by 2,000 votes in Tirunelveli, where Karthik's party polled more than the margin. ^[58] Two weeks later his split from AIADMK, he announced his party will contest independently in 19 constituencies and support DMK in 213 constituencies. ^[60]

Educationist-turned-politician T. R.Pachamuthu's Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) leads the third front. It comprises Tamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam of John Pandian, Samooka Samathuva Padai of retired IAS officer, P Sivakami, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Peravai and VOC Peravai. The front is fielding candidates in more than 150 constituencies . ^[58] Political observers feel that the IJK could poll 3,000 to 5,000 votes in many constituencies in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Salem districts where Pachamuthu's Udayar community has sizeable presence. The Samooka Samathuva Padai will mobilise significant dalit votes in constituencies like Tindivanam, Krishnarayapuram, Haroor and Gangavalli. Sivakami herself is contesting from Gangavalli . ^[58] John Pandian has some influence in Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Dindigul and Tirunelveli districts. ^[58]

Bahujan Samaj Party which is ruling in Uttar Pradesh has decided to field candidates for all 234 seats and will be contesting alone . The party announced its candidate list on 18 March. ^[61] Puratchi Bharatham led by MLA JeganMurthy which was part of DMK alliance from 2004 left the alliance due to seat sharing issue. It contested 40 seats on its own. ^[62] Social Democratic Party of India has also plunged into the Tamil Nadu election fray with a view to garnering Muslim votes. They are concentrating on Coimbatore, Ramanathapuram and some parts of Chennai. Ahila Indiya Parampariya Meenavar Sangam decided to contest in 27 constituencies that constitute a major population of fishermen. The decision was made in a meeting of fishermen's unions from across Tamil Nadu held in Pattinapakkam headed by its general secretary Rubeshkumar. ^[63] Arundhathiar (a section of dalits) outfit headed by R Adhiyaman has fielded candidates in 20 segments in western Tamil Nadu .

Campaign

AIADMK front

AIADMK supporters in Chennai before polling.

DMDK launched a vigorous campaign to defeat DMK; It made a resolution to call all parties to come together to defeat the ruling DMK in a conference held in Salem on 8 January presided over by its leader Vijayakanth. ^[64] AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa campaigned supporting the candidates of her alliance across the entire state from 24 March until on 11 April. ^[65] She promised to provide the people of Tamil Nadu with golden reign, if they voted out the ruling party. ^[66] From the Tamil film industry, film directors R. V. Udayakumar and S. A. Chandrasekhar and actors Vijay, ^[67] Senthil, Gundu Kalyanam, Ponnambalam, C. R. Saraswathi, Radha Ravi and Anandaraj campaigned for the AIADMK front. ^[68] Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat characterised the DMK's rule as a dark chapter in the history of Tamil Nadu and the 2G spectrum case had shamed its people. Communist Party of India general secretary A. B. Bardhan exhorted Jayalalithaa to lead the battle to unseat the corrupt regime at the centre after its victory in Tamil Nadu. ^[66]

DMK front

DMK posters in Chennai before polling.

S. Ramadoss, leader of Pattali Makkal Katchi expressed his dissatisfaction with people from film industry ruling Tamil Nadu since 1967. He also urged voters not to vote for Vijayakanth with long career as a Tamil actor. ^[69] Expressing dissatisfaction that he could not be elected to Chief Ministership, Ramadoss complained – in a meeting held in Mayilam – that Vanniars with a total population of 25 million in Tamil Nadu never elected one of their own for Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. ^[70] Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK), a political party in the western districts of Tamil Nadu, complained about the neglect of Kongu region by the successive governments in a conference held at Karur. Er. Eswaran, general secretary of KMK, urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development in the Kongu region. ^[71] Comedy actor Vadivelu campaigned for the DMK Front. ^[72] Telugu actor and politician Chiranjeevi who had recently merged his party Praja Rajyam with Congress in Andhra Pradesh also campaigned for the DMK front. ^[68] Actor turned Union Minister Napoleon, director K. Bhagyaraj, and actors Khushbu and Vaagai Chadrasekar campaigned for DMK . ^{[73] [74]} Congress President Sonia Gandhi shared the stage with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in an election rally highlighting the strides made by the state under the latter's leadership. Addressing a rally near Marina beach in Chennai, Gandhi said Tamil Nadu had become a front-ranking state whose ideas of development and welfare were copied by the rest. ^[75] All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi appealed to the people of Tamil Nadu to support the Democratic Progressive Alliance to further the development and socialistic agenda of the State for the next five years. Addressing an election rally which was presided over by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, he said that Tamil Nadu was one of the most progressive States in the country. It had achieved an important place in industrial, textile, automobile sectors and information technology; A number of social welfare schemes were being implemented. It was leading in health care and higher education in the country. ^[76]

Manifestoes

The manifestoes of the two largest in the legislative assembly were:

AIADMK

AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa released election manifesto for the election that mentioned it would give: ^[77]

• 20 kg of free rice for ration-card holders.
• Laptops for students from classes XI.
• Free fans, mixers and grinders.
• Free mineral water to BPL families.
• Monorail for Chennai.
• Promised new power generation projects and IT Industries in Coimbatore West and development of Small Scale Industries in Madurai South.

DMK

DMK president M. Karunanidhi released election manifesto for the election that mentioned it would give: ^[78]

• Free laptops for all college students and free mixer or grinder for women.
• Rural schemes and Metro Rail for Coimbatore and Madurai.

Election Commission actions

The Chief Election Commissioner of India, S. Y. Quraishi addressing at the Observer’s briefing meeting in New Delhi on March 10, 2011, for Legislative Assembly election of Tamil Nadu along with those of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, and Puducherry

The election commission was commended for conducting the election in a strict and fair manner. ^{[79] [80]} It enforced stringent measures to curb use of money power to bribe voters by paying them cash. It also strictly enforced 10 PM curfew on campaigning. DMK chief M Karunanidhi and his ally PMK founder S Ramadoss accused the EC of bringing about an emergency like situation in the State while such a situation was not prevalent in the other poll-bound States. CEC has said the people were happy about the conduct of elections, the CEC displayed an SMS from Chennai which read "earlier EC just announced elections. Only now they are conducting them. This is just one sample of people’s response". ^[81] Some of the actions taken by Returning officers in the State

• The EC appointed flying squads and I–T teams recently seized more than Rs 50 million, largest ever in the state, from the roof of an empty bus in Trichy. ^[82]
• The Election Commission is probing alleged purchase of nine lakh T-shirts costing more than Rs 110 million by ruling DMK from a single shop in Tirupur district of poll bound Tamil Nadu. ^[82]
• Election Officials have seized unauthorised cash of over Rs 530 million in cash out of which Rs 420 million are from Tamil Nadu alone ^[81]
• The biggest seizure of cash has come from Madurai district at Rs. 39.1 million. Madurai district collector U. Sahayam has said only Rs. 371,000 of the cash seized in the district has been reclaimed with documented proof. The EC had earlier transferred the collector and appointed Sahayam as the collector .EC also transferred the superintendent of police in Madurai district, key officials in the administration; it is also supervising the use of wedding halls to ensure that the premises are not misused. ^[83]

Cases registered

• Tiruvarur town police have registered a case against film actor Vadivelu for his denigrating speech against founder of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) Vijayakant on 23 March. ^[84]
• Actress and DMK star speaker Khushboo has been booked under two cases for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct. The first case pertained to the actress allegedly blocking the road and interrupting traffic while campaigning for her party at Palanichetti area in the district, police said. The second case was booked when a combined eight cars were found to be following the vehicle of the actress without prior permission at two places in the district, police said. All the eight vehicles had been seized, they said. ^[85]
• Melur Assistant Returning Officer, P. Kalimuthu had stated that DMK workers, accompanied by Mr. Alagiri, had been to the temple, where a large number of local elders were present. The flying squad had received information that the political party functionaries might distribute cash. They rushed to the spot and videographed the visit. This resulted in a scuffle. In the melee, the videographer [appointed by ECI] was roughed up. On the basis of Mr. Kalimuthu's complaint with Keelavalavu police, a case was registered against Mr. Alagiri, Deputy Mayor P.M. Mannan, two local DMK functionaries Regupathi and Thirugnanam and 50 others for waylaying and obstructing officials from discharging their duty. ^[86]
• DMK Member of Parliament J.K. Ritheesh and seven others were arrested for allegedly assaulting a man and others when a clash broke out on Monday night between his supporters and a group over an issue of relaying a road near Ramanathapuram . ^[87]
• Election Commission of India has sent notices, based on the complaint of the DMK to AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa and her ally DMDK general secretary Vijayakant for their alleged personal attacks against chief minister M. Karunanidhi and his family during electioneering. ^[88]

Opinion polls

Pre-poll surveys

Most non-partisan pre-polls found AIADMK+ winning comfortably in this election. The pre-polls indicated a great deal of anger towards the incumbent government, due to corruption allegations and recent food price rises. Also AIADMK was aided by including DMDK and its leader Vijaykanth, which has had on average a 10% vote share in recent elections in Tamil Nadu. ^[89]

Agency	Dates	DMK+		AIADMK+		Ref.
Headlines Today–ORG Poll	1 April 2011	68 seats	45%	164 seats	50%	[89]
"People studies" - Loyola College, Chennai	21–29 March 2011	70 seats	42%	105 seats	49%	[90] [91]

Post-poll surveys

The above bar graph shows the differences in margin of victory (seats) between opinion polling and final results. Green represents the polling agency made the correct prediction (AIADMK+ victory/lead)
Red represents the polling agency made the wrong prediction (DMK+ victory/lead)

Since exit polls are banned by ECI, Headlines Today-ORG Poll, conducted a post-poll survey, where they polled voters after they voted in their houses. ^[92] Post polls conducted by Headlines Today-ORG Poll, found this election to be a toss-up, with DMK gaining a lot of ground in the last few weeks before the election. The exit poll particularly noted a late swing towards the incumbent in the rural communities of Tamil Nadu, which allowed the DMK and its alliance to increase its overall vote share percentage from 45% in the pre-poll survey to 50% post-poll. A couple of weeks after the Headlines today post poll, a few post polls showed the exact opposite result, with CNN-IBN and Asianet post poll giving AIADMK+, the majority of the same margin.

Agency	Date reported	DMK+		AIADMK+		Ref.
Headlines Today–ORG Poll	28 April 2011	115-130 seats	50%	105-120 seats	48%	[93]
CNN-IBN-The Week post-poll survey	10 May 2011	102-114 seats	44%	120-132 seats	46%	[94]
Asianet-C Fore Poll	10 May 2011	117 seats	–	132 seats	–	[95]
STAR News	10 May 2011	124 seats	–	110 seats	–
CVB - NewsX-CVoter	10 May 2011	54-62 seats	–	176 seats	–

Polling

Source: Tamil Nadu Election Website ^[96]

Poll notification was issued on 19 March. The last date of filing nominations was 26 March and candidates were allowed to withdraw their nominations until 30 March. The state election commission scrutinised the nominations on 28 March. Election was held in a single phase on 13 April 2011. ^[97] 77.8% of the electorate voted in the election, the highest ever in the history of all elections conducted in Tamil Nadu surpassing 76.57% polled in 1967 election. Karur district registered highest turnout of 86.4% followed by Ariyalur district of 84.1%. Chennai district and Kanyakumari district polled the lowest number of votes, 68.2% and 69% respectively. ^{[98] [99]}

Category	Polled	Turnout %
Men	18,381,236	77.71%
Women	18,371,744	78.54%
Total	36,753,114	78.12%

Result

Main article: Results of the 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

Results by pre-poll alliance

Election map of results based on parties

Election map based on % seats won by district

Summary of the 2011 April/May Assembly election result in Tamil Nadu

Alliance/Party		Seats won	Change	Popular vote	Vote %	Adj. %‡
AIADMK+ alliance		203	+130	19,085,762	51.9%
AIADMK		150	+93	14,150,289	38.4%	53.9%
DMDK		29	+28	2,903,828	7.9%	44.8%
CPI(M)		10	+1	888,364	2.4%	50.3%
CPI		9	+3	727,394	2.0%	48.6%
MNMK		2	+2	181,180	0.5%	42.4%
PT		2	+2	146,454	0.4%	54.3%
AIFB		1	+1	88,253	0.2%	51.2%
DMK+ alliance		31	-126	14,530,215	39.5%
DMK		23	-77	8,249,991	22.4%	42.1%
INC		5	-32	3,426,432	9.3%	35.6%
PMK		3	-15	1,927,783	5.2%	39.6%
VCK		0	-2	555,965	1.5%	34.0%
KMK		0	–	370,044	1.0%	32.5%
Others		0	-4	3,137,137	8.5%
BJP		0	–	819,577	2.2%	2.6%
MDMK †		–	-3	–	–	–
IND and others		0	-1	2,120,476	5.8%	N/A
Total		234	–	36,845,373	100%	–
Valid votes				36,845,373	99.89
Invalid votes				40,853	0.11
Votes cast / turnout				36,886,226	78.29
Abstentions				10,229,620	21.71
Registered voters				47,115,846

†: MDMK left the AIADMK alliance due to failed seat sharing talks and boycotted this election.
‡: Vote % reflects the percentage of votes the party received compared to the entire electorate that voted in this election. Adjusted (Adj.) Vote %, reflects the average % of votes the party received per constituency that they contested.
Sources: Election Commission of India and Hindu Newspaper ^{[100] [101] [102]}

By constituency

Winner, runner-up, voter turnout, and victory margin in every constituency

Assembly Constituency		Winner					Runner Up					Margin
#k	Name	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
1	Gummidipoondi	C. H. Sekar		DMDK	97,708	54.4	Sekar  K  N		PMK	68,452	38.11	29,256
2	Ponneri	Pon. Raja		AIADMK	93,624	57.5	Manimekalai. A.		DMK	62,354	38.29	31,270
3	Tiruttani	M. Arun Subramanian		DMDK	95,918	50.16	Raman. E. S. S.		INC	71,988	37.64	23,930
4	Thiruvallur	B. V. Ramanaa		AIADMK	91,337	53.69	Shiaji E. A. P		DMK	67,689	39.79	23,648
5	Poonamallee	R. Manimaran		AIADMK	99,097	54.59	Kanchi Gv Mathiazhagan		INC	57,678	31.77	41,419
6	Avadi	S. Abdul Rahim		AIADMK	110,102	55.18	Dhamotharan. R		INC	66,864	33.51	43,238
7	Maduravoyal	G. Beem Rao		CPI(M)	96,844	52.09	Selvam K		PMK	72,833	39.17	24,011
8	Ambattur	S. Vedachalam		AIADMK	99,330	53.3	Ranaganathan. B		DMK	76,613	41.11	22,717
9	Madavaram	V. Moorthy		AIADMK	115,468	55.69	Kanimozhi N S		DMK	80,703	38.93	34,765
10	Thiruvottiyur	K. Kuppan		AIADMK	93,944	57.03	Samy. K. P. P.		DMK	66,653	40.47	27,291
11	Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar	P. Vetrivel		AIADMK	83,777	59.04	P. K. Sekar Babu		DMK	52,522	37.01	31,255
12	Perambur	A. Soundararajan		CPI(M)	84,668	52.26	N. R. Dhanapalan		DMK	67,245	41.5	17,423
13	Kolathur	M. K. Stalin		DMK	68,677	48.35	Sadai. Sa. Duraisamy		AIADMK	65,943	46.43	2,734
14	Villivakkam	J. C. D. Prabhakar		AIADMK	68,612	52.44	K. Anbazhagan		DMK	57,830	44.2	10,782
15	Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar	V. Neelakandan		AIADMK	72,887	58.87	Dr. C. Natesan		INC	43,546	35.17	29,341
16	Egmore	K. Nalla Thambi		DMDK	51,772	46.23	Parithi Ellamvzuthi		DMK	51,570	46.05	202
17	Royapuram	D. Jayakumar		AIADMK	65,099	57.89	Manohar. R		INC	43,727	38.88	21,372
18	Harbour	Pala. Karuppiah		AIADMK	53,920	55.89	Altaf Hussain		DMK	33,603	34.83	20,317
19	Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni	J. Anbazhagan		DMK	64,191	49.44	Thameemun Ansari. M		MNMK	54,988	42.35	9,203
20	Thousand Lights	B. Valarmathi		AIADMK	67,522	50.55	Hasan Mohamed Jinnah		DMK	59,930	44.87	7,592
21	Anna Nagar	S. Gokula Indira		AIADMK	88,954	58.67	Arivazhagan V. K.		INC	52,364	34.54	36,590
22	Virugambakkam	B. Parthasarathy		DMDK	71,524	49.65	Thanasekaran K		DMK	57,430	39.86	14,094
23	Saidapet	G. Senthamizhan		AIADMK	79,856	51.78	Msh Kumaar. M		DMK	67,785	43.95	12,071
24	Thiyagarayanagar	V. P. Kalairajan		AIADMK	75,883	58.48	Chellakumar A		INC	43,421	33.46	32,462
25	Mylapore	R. Rajalakshmi (politician)		AIADMK	80,063	56.03	Thangkabalu K V		INC	50,859	35.6	29,204
26	Velachery	M. K. Ashok		AIADMK	82,145	53.91	Jayaraman M		PMK	50,425	33.1	31,720
27	Shozhinganallur	K. P. Kandan		AIADMK	145,385	60.43	S. S. Balaji		VCK	78,413	32.59	66,972
28	Alandur	Panruti S. Ramachandran		DMDK	76,537	45.52	Dr. K. Ghayathri Devi		INC	70,783	42.1	5,754
29	Sriperumbudur	R. Perumal		AIADMK	101,751	59.07	D. Yasodha		INC	60,819	35.31	40,392
30	Pallavaram	P. Dhansingh		AIADMK	105,631	52.7	T. M. Anbarasan		DMK	88,257	44.03	17,374
31	Tambaram	T. K. M. Chinnayya		AIADMK	91,702	51.45	S. R. Raja		DMK	77,718	43.61	13,984
32	Chengalpattu	D. Murugesan		DMDK	83,297	44.58	V. G. Rangasamy		PMK	83,006	44.42	291
33	Thiruporur	K. Manoharan		AIADMK	84,169	53.06	K. Arumugam		PMK	65,881	41.53	18,288
34	Cheyyur	V. S. Raji		AIADMK	78,307	55.59	D. Parventhan		VCK	51,723	36.72	26,584
35	Maduranthakam	S. Kanitha Sampath		AIADMK	79,256	53.64	Dr. K. Jayakumar		INC	60,762	41.13	18,494
36	Uthiramerur	P. Ganesan		AIADMK	86,912	51.75	Ponkumar		DMK	73,146	43.55	13,766
37	Kancheepuram	V. Somasundaram		AIADMK	102,710	53.43	P. S. Ulagarakshagan		PMK	76,993	40.05	25,717
38	Arakkonam	S. Ravi (politician)		AIADMK	79,409	55.94	S. Sellapandian		VCK	53,172	37.46	26,237
39	Sholingur	P. R. Manogar		DMDK	69,963	38.98	A. M. Munirathinam		Independent	60,925	33.94	9,038
40	Katpadi	Durai Murugan		DMK	75,064	49.55	Appu S. R. K. (A) Radhakrishnan. S.		AIADMK	72,091	47.59	2,973
41	Ranipet	A. Mohammed John		AIADMK	83,834	53.14	R. Gandhi		DMK	69,633	44.14	14,201
42	Arcot	R. Srinivasan		AIADMK	93,258	53.11	K. L. Elavazagan		PMK	74,005	42.14	19,253
43	Vellore	V. S. Vijay		AIADMK	71,522	50.82	Gnanasekaran. C.		INC	56,346	40.04	15,176
44	Anaikattu	M. Kalai Arasu		PMK	80,233	54.51	Velu. V. B.		DMDK	52,330	35.55	27,903
45	Kilvaithinankuppam	C. K. Thamizharasan		AIADMK	72,002	51.12	Seetharaman. K		DMK	62,242	44.19	9,760
46	Gudiyattam	K. Lingamuthu		CPI	79,416	49.07	K. Rajamarthandan.		DMK	73,574	45.46	5,842
47	Vaniyambadi	Govi. Sampath Kumar		AIADMK	80,563	54.65	Abdul Basith . H		DMK	62,338	42.29	18,225
48	Ambur	A. Aslam Basha		MNMK	60,361	44.01	Vijay Elanchezian. J		INC	55,270	40.3	5,091
49	Jolarpet	K.C. Veeramani		AIADMK	86,273	55.13	Ponnusamy. G.		PMK	63,337	40.47	22,936
50	Tirupattur	K. G. Ramesh		AIADMK	82,895	55.31	S. Rajendran		DMK	61,103	40.77	21,792
51	Uthangarai	Manoranjitham Nagaraj		AIADMK	90,381	58.92	Muniyammal		VCK	51,223	33.39	39,158
52	Bargur	K. E. Krishnamoorthi		AIADMK	88,711	56.02	T. K. Raja		PMK	59,271	37.43	29,440
53	Krishnagiri	K. P. Munusamy		AIADMK	89,776	55.98	Syed Ghiyas Ul Haq		INC	60,679	37.83	29,097
54	Veppanahalli	T. Senguttuvan		DMK	71,471	45.09	Kandan @ Murugesan. S. M		DMDK	63,867	40.29	7,604
55	Hosur	K. Gopinath		INC	65,034	37.79	S. John Timothy		DMDK	50,882	29.56	14,152
56	Thalli	T. Ramachandran		CPI	74,353	47.9	Prakaash. Y.		DMK	67,918	43.75	6,435
57	Palacode	K. P. Anbalagan		AIADMK	94,877	60.72	Selvam V		PMK	51,664	33.06	43,213
58	Pennagaram	Nanjappan N		CPI	80,028	49.31	Inbasekaran P N P		DMK	68,485	42.2	11,543
59	Dharmapuri	Baskar A		DMDK	76,943	45.73	Santhamoorthy P		PMK	72,900	43.33	4,043
60	Pappireddippatti	Palaniappan P		AIADMK	76,582	45.39	Mullaiventhan V		DMK	66,093	39.17	10,489
61	Harur	Dillibabu P		CPI(M)	77,703	51.71	Nandhan B M		VCK	51,200	34.07	26,503
62	Chengam	Sureshkumar T		DMDK	83,722	46.95	Selvaperunthagai. K		INC	72,225	40.5	11,497
63	Tiruvannamalai	E. V. Velu		DMK	84,802	49.4	Ramachandran. S		AIADMK	79,676	46.41	5,126
64	Kilpennathur	A. K. Aranganathan		AIADMK	83,663	48.2	Pitchandi. K		DMK	79,582	45.85	4,081
65	Kalasapakkam	S. S. Krishnamoorthy		AIADMK	91,833	58.95	Vijayakumar. P. S		INC	53,599	34.4	38,234
66	Polur	L. Jaya Sudha		AIADMK	92,391	55.42	Edirolimanian. G		PMK	63,846	38.3	28,545
67	Arani	R. M. Babu Murugavel		DMDK	88,967	50.06	Sivanandham. R		DMK	81,001	45.58	7,966
68	Cheyyar	Mukkur N. Subramanian		AIADMK	96,180	53.67	Vishnu Prasad. M. K.		INC	70,717	39.46	25,463
69	Vandavasi	V. Gunaseelan		AIADMK	84,529	52.05	Kamalakkannan. J		DMK	72,233	44.48	12,296
70	Gingee	Ganesh Kumar.A		PMK	77,026	44.15	Sivalingam. R		DMDK	75,215	43.12	1,811
71	Mailam	P. Nagarajan		AIADMK	81,656	53.92	Prakash. R		PMK	61,575	40.66	20,081
72	Tindivanam	D. Haridoss		AIADMK	80,553	52.59	Sankar M. P		PMK	65,016	42.45	15,537
73	Vanur	I. Janagiraman		AIADMK	88,834	55.99	Pushparaj. S		DMK	63,696	40.14	25,138
74	Villupuram	C. V. Shanmugam		AIADMK	90,304	52.18	K. Ponmudy		DMK	78,207	45.19	12,097
75	Vikravandi	R. Ramamurthy		CPI(M)	78,656	51.72	Rathamani. K		DMK	63,759	41.93	14,897
76	Tirukkoyilur	Venkatesan.L		DMDK	78,229	49.18	Thangam. M		DMK	69,438	43.65	8,791
77	Ulundurpettai	Kumaraguru.R		AIADMK	114,794	60.09	Mohamedyousuf. M		VCK	61,286	32.08	53,508
78	Rishivandiyam	Vijaykanth		DMDK	91,164	53.19	Sivaraj. S		INC	60,369	35.22	30,795
79	Sankarapuram	Mohan.P		AIADMK	87,522	51.24	T. Udhayasuriyan		DMK	75,324	44.09	12,198
80	Kallakurichi	K. Alaguvelu		AIADMK	111,249	62.18	A. C. Pavarasu		VCK	51,251	28.65	59,998
81	Gangavalli	Subha.R		DMDK	72,922	48.6	Chinnadurai. K		DMK	59,457	39.63	13,465
82	Attur	Madheswaran.S		AIADMK	88,036	55.53	Arthanari. S. K.		INC	58,180	36.7	29,856
83	Yercaud	Perumal.C		AIADMK	104,221	58.06	Tamilselvan. C.		DMK	66,639	37.13	37,582
84	Omalur	Krishnan.C		AIADMK	112,102	59.7	Tamizharasu. A		PMK	65,558	34.91	46,544
85	Mettur	Parthiban.S.R.		DMDK	75,672	44.62	Mani. G. K.		PMK	73,078	43.09	2,594
86	Edappadi	Edappadi K. Palaniswami		AIADMK	104,586	56.38	Karthe. M		PMK	69,848	37.66	34,738
87	Sankari	P. Vijayalakshmi		AIADMK	105,502	57.07	Veerapandy S. Arumugam		DMK	70,423	38.1	35,079
88	Salem (West)	Venkatachalam.G		AIADMK	95,935	56.5	Rajendran. R		DMK	68,274	40.21	27,661
89	Salem (North)	Alagapuram R Mohanraj		DMDK	88,956	54.46	Jayaprakash G		INC	59,591	36.48	29,365
90	Salem (South)	Selvaraju.M.K.		AIADMK	112,691	64.97	Sivalingam. S. R.		DMK	52,476	30.25	60,215
91	Veerapandi	Selvam.S.K		AIADMK	100,155	55.73	Rajendran. A.		DMK	73,657	40.98	26,498
92	Rasipuram	Dhanapal.P		AIADMK	90,186	55.6	Duraisamy. V. P		DMK	65,469	40.36	24,717
93	Senthamangalam	Santhi.R		DMDK	76,637	47.51	Ponnusamy. K		DMK	68,132	42.24	8,505
94	Namakkal	Baskar.K.P.P		AIADMK	95,579	56.34	Devarasan. R.		KNMK	59,724	35.2	35,855
95	Paramathi Velur	Thaniyarasu.U		AIADMK	82,682	54.5	Selvam V		PMK	51,664	34.06	31,018
96	Tiruchengodu	Sampathkumar. P		DMDK	78,103	52.12	Sundaram. M. R.		INC	54,158	36.14	23,945
97	Kumarapalayam	Thangamani.P		AIADMK	91,077	56.59	Selvaraju. G		DMK	64,190	39.88	26,887
98	Erode (East)	Chandhirakumar V.C		DMDK	69,166	50.83	S. Muthusamy		DMK	58,522	43.01	10,644
99	Erode (West)	Ramalingam K.V		AIADMK	90,789	59.29	Yuvaraja M		INC	52,921	34.56	37,868
100	Modakkurichi	Kittusamy R.N		AIADMK	87,705	57.29	Palanisami R. M		INC	47,543	31.06	40,162
101	Dharapuram	Ponnusamy.K		AIADMK	83,856	51.68	Jayanthi. R		DMK	68,831	42.42	15,025
102	Kangayam	Nataraj.Nsn		AIADMK	96,005	60.63	Videyal Sekar. S.		INC	54,240	34.26	41,765
103	Perundurai	Venkatachalam.N.D		AIADMK	89,960	60.15	Kkc Balu		KNMK	47,793	31.96	42,167
104	Bhavani	Narayanan.P.G		AIADMK	87,121	54.28	Mahendran. K. S		PMK	59,080	36.81	28,041
105	Anthiyur	Ramanitharan.S.S		AIADMK	78,496	54.92	Raaja. N. K. K. P		DMK	53,242	37.25	25,254
106	Gobichettipalayam	Sengottaiyan K.A		AIADMK	94,872	54.47	Sivaraj. N. S		KNMK	52,960	30.4	41,912
107	Bhavanisagar	Sundaram P.L		CPI	82,890	50.69	Logeswari R		DMK	63,487	38.83	19,403
108	Udhagamandalam	Budhichandhiran		AIADMK	61,605	50.22	Ganesh. R		INC	54,060	44.07	7,545
109	Gudalur	Thiravidamani.M		DMK	66,871	58.67	Selvaraj. S		DMDK	39,497	34.65	27,374
110	Coonoor	Ramachandran.K		DMK	61,302	50.66	Bellie. A		CPI	52,010	42.98	9,292
111	Mettupalayam	Chinnaraj O K		AIADMK	93,700	54.53	B. Arunkumar		DMK	67,925	39.53	25,775
112	Avanashi	Karuppasamy.M. A.		AIADMK	103,002	66.6	Natarajan. A. R.		INC	41,591	26.89	61,411
113	Tiruppur (North)	M. S. M. Anandan		AIADMK	113,640	70.62	Govindasamy. C		DMK	40,369	25.09	73,271
114	Tiruppur (South)	Thangavel.K		CPI(M)	75,424	61.63	Senthilkumar K		INC	37,121	30.33	38,303
115	Palladam	Paramasivam.K.P		AIADMK	118,140	66.78	Balasubramanian. K		KNMK	48,364	27.34	69,776
116	Sulur	Thinakaran K		DMDK	88,680	52.29	E. R. Eswaran		KNMK	59,148	34.88	29,532
117	Kavundampalayam	Arukutty V C		AIADMK	137,058	63.22	Subramanian T P		DMK	67,798	31.27	69,260
118	Coimbatore North	Malaravan T.		AIADMK	93,276	60.07	Veeragopal M.		DMK	53,178	34.25	40,098
119	Thondamuthur	S. P. Velumani		AIADMK	99,886	62.4	Kandaswamy M N		INC	46,683	29.16	53,203
120	Coimbatore (South)	Doraiswamy R		AIADMK	80,637	56.27	Challenger Dorai Pongalur Palanisamy N		DMK	52,841	36.88	27,796
121	Singanallur	Chinnasamy R		AIADMK	89,487	56.32	Mayura S Jayakumar		INC	55,161	34.71	34,326
122	Kinathukadavu	Damodaran S		AIADMK	94,123	56.17	M. Kannappan		DMK	63,857	38.11	30,266
123	Pollachi	Muthukaruppannasamy M. K.		AIADMK	81,446	57.46	K Nithyanandhan. K		KNMK	51,138	36.08	30,308
124	Valparai	Arumugham M		CPI	61,171	49.16	N. Kovaithangam		INC	57,750	46.41	3,421
125	Udumalaipettai	Pollachi Jayaraman. V		AIADMK	95,477	60.87	Ilamparrithi. T		KNMK	50,917	32.46	44,560
126	Madathukulam	C.Shanmugavelu		AIADMK	78,622	54.71	M. P. Saminathan		DMK	58,953	41.02	19,669
127	Palani	Venugopalu. K.S.N		AIADMK	82,051	48.3	I. P. Senthil Kumar		DMK	80,297	47.27	1,754
128	Oddanchatram	Sakkarapani.R		DMK	87,743	51.99	Baalasubramani. P		AIADMK	72,810	43.14	14,933
129	Athoor	I. Periyasamy		DMK	112,751	59.58	Balasubramani. S		DMDK	58,819	31.08	53,932
130	Nilakottai	Ramasamy.A		PT	75,124	52.45	Rajangam. K.		INC	50,410	35.19	24,714
131	Natham	Viswanathan.R.		AIADMK	94,947	53.87	Vijayan. K		DMK	41,858	23.75	53,089
132	Dindigul	Balabharathi.K.		CPI(M)	86,932	58.82	Paul Baskar . J		PMK	47,817	32.35	39,115
133	Vedasandur	Palanichamy. S		AIADMK	104,511	61.92	M. Dhandapani		INC	53,799	31.88	50,712
134	Aravakurichi	Pallanishamy.K.C		DMK	72,831	49.71	Senthilnathan. V		AIADMK	68,290	46.61	4,541
135	Karur	Senthil Balaji, V		AIADMK	99,738	61.18	Jothi Mani. S.		INC	55,593	34.1	44,145
136	Krishnarayapuram	Kamaraj.S		AIADMK	83,145	54.81	Kamaraj. P		DMK	60,636	39.97	22,509
137	Kulithalai	Pappasundaram.A		AIADMK	87,459	54.78	R. Manickam		DMK	64,986	40.7	22,473
138	Manapaarai	Chandra Sekar R		AIADMK	81,020	46.77	Ponnusamy K		Independent	52,721	30.43	28,299
139	Srirangam	J. Jayalalithaa		AIADMK	105,328	58.99	N Anand		DMK	63,480	35.55	41,848
140	Tiruchirappalli (West)	N. Mariam Pitchai		AIADMK	77,492	50.21	K. N. Nehru		DMK	70,313	45.56	7,179
141	Tiruchirappalli (East)	R. Manoharan		AIADMK	83,046	54.84	Anbil Periyasamy		DMK	62,420	41.22	20,626
142	Thiruverumbur	S. Senthilkumar		DMDK	71,356	47.4	K. N. Seharan		DMK	67,151	44.61	4,205
143	Lalgudi	Soundarapandian .A		DMK	65,363	44.71	Sendhureswaran. A. D		DMDK	58,208	39.81	7,155
144	Manachanallur	Poonachi. T. P.		AIADMK	83,105	53.12	Selvaraj. N		DMK	63,915	40.86	19,190
145	Musiri	N. R. Sivapathy		AIADMK	82,631	54.79	M. Rajasekharan		INC	38,840	25.75	43,791
146	Thuraiyur	Indraganthi T		AIADMK	75,228	50.67	Parimala Devi S		DMK	64,293	43.31	10,935
147	Perambalur	Tamizhselvan.R		AIADMK	98,497	52.19	M. Prabhakaran		DMK	79,418	42.08	19,079
148	Kunnam	S. S. Sivasankar		DMK	81,723	46.89	Durai. Kamaraj		DMDK	58,766	33.72	22,957
149	Ariyalur	Manivel, Durai.		AIADMK	88,726	47.77	D. Amaramoorthy		INC	70,906	38.17	17,820
150	Jayankondam	Guru @ Gurunathan J		PMK	92,739	51.53	Elavazhagan P		AIADMK	77,601	43.12	15,138
151	Tittakudi	K.Tamil Azhagan		DMDK	61,897	44.45	M. Sinthanaiselvan		VCK	49,255	35.37	12,642
152	Virudhachalam	V. Muthukumar		DMDK	72,902	46.06	T. Neethirajan		INC	59,261	37.44	13,641
153	Neyveli	M. P. S. Sivasubramaniyan		AIADMK	69,549	50.63	T. Velmurugan		PMK	61,431	44.72	8,118
154	Panruti	P. Sivakolunthu		DMDK	82,187	50.91	T. Senguttuvan		DMK	71,471	44.27	10,716
155	Cuddalore	M.C. Sampath		AIADMK	85,953	60.56	E. Pugazhendi		DMK	52,275	36.83	33,678
156	Kurinjipadi	R.Rajendran		AIADMK	88,345	56.38	M. R. K. Panneerselvam		DMK	64,497	41.16	23,848
157	Bhuvanagiri	Selvi.R		AIADMK	87,413	51.34	T. Arivuselvan		PMK	74,296	43.64	13,117
158	Chidambaram	K.Balakrishnan		CPI(M)	72,054	48.3	Sridhar Vandaiyar		DMK	69,175	46.37	2,879
159	Kattumannarkoil	N. Murugumaran		AIADMK	83,665	57.79	Ravikumar. D		VCK	51,940	35.88	31,725
160	Sirkazhi	Sakthi . M		AIADMK	83,881	54.62	Durairajan . P		VCK	56,502	36.79	27,379
161	Mayiladuthurai	R.Arulselvan		DMDK	63,326	44.64	S. Rajakumar		INC	60,309	42.52	3,017
162	Poompuhar	Pavunraj.S		AIADMK	85,839	50.66	Agoram. K		PMK	74,466	43.94	11,373
163	Nagapattinam	K. A. Jayapal		AIADMK	61,870	51.26	Mohamed Sheik Dawood		DMK	56,127	46.51	5,743
164	Kilvelur	Mahalingam P		CPI(M)	59,402	48.99	Mathivanan U		DMK	58,678	48.39	724
165	Vedaranyam	N.V.Kamaraj		AIADMK	53,799	41.16	S. K. Vedarathinam		Independent	42,871	32.8	10,928
166	Thiruthuraipoondi	K. Ulaganathan		CPI	83,399	53.36	P. Selvadurai		INC	61,112	39.1	22,287
167	Mannargudi	T. R. B. Rajaa		DMK	81,320	48.93	Rajamanickam. Siva.		AIADMK	77,338	46.54	3,928
168	Thiruvarur	M. Karunanidhi		DMK	109,014	62.96	Rajendran. M		AIADMK	58,765	33.94	50,249
169	Nannilam	R. Kamaraj		AIADMK	92,071	50.96	Elangovan. R		DMK	81,667	45.2	10,404
170	Thiruvidaimarudur	Chezhiaan.Govi		DMK	77,175	48.12	Pandiyarajan. T		AIADMK	76,781	47.87	394
171	Kumbakonam	G. Anbalagan		DMK	78,642	48.72	Rama Ramanathan		AIADMK	77,370	47.93	1,272
172	Papanasam	R. Doraikkannu		AIADMK	85,635	53.47	M. Ramkumar		INC	67,628	42.22	18,007
173	Thiruvaiyaru	M. Rethinasami		AIADMK	88,784	51.11	S. Aranganathan		DMK	75,822	43.65	12,962
174	Thanjavur	M.Rengasamy		AIADMK	75,415	50.57	S. N. M. Ubayadullah		DMK	68,086	45.66	7,329
175	Orathanadu	R.Vaithilingam		AIADMK	91,724	57.8	Mahendran. K. S		PMK	59,080	37.23	32,644
176	Pattukkottai	N.R.Rengarajan		INC	55,482	37.91	N. Senthilkumar.		DMDK	46,703	31.91	8,779
177	Peravurani	C. Arunpandian		DMDK	51,010	36.42	K. Mahendran		INC	43,816	31.29	7,194
178	Gandharvakottai	Subramanian. N		AIADMK	67,128	54.85	Kavithaipithan. S		DMK	47,429	38.76	19,699
179	Viralimalai	Vijaya Basker. C		AIADMK	77,285	55.99	S. Regupathy		DMK	37,976	27.51	39,309
180	Pudukkottai	Muthukumaran.P		CPI	65,466	46.78	Periyannan Arassu		DMK	62,365	44.56	3,101
181	Thirumayam	Vairamuthu. P.K		AIADMK	78,913	58.27	Subburam. Rm.		INC	47,778	35.28	31,135
182	Alangudi	Krishnan.Kupa		AIADMK	57,250	41.42	Arulmani. S		PMK	52,123	37.71	5,127
183	Aranthangi	Raja Nayagam M		AIADMK	67,559	52.77	Thirunavukkarasar Su		INC	50,903	39.76	16,656
184	Karaikudi	Palanichamy.Cholan.Ct		AIADMK	86,104	51.01	Ramasamy. Kr		INC	67,204	39.81	18,900
185	Tiruppattur	Periyakaruppan.Kr		DMK	83,485	48.25	Raja Kannappan		AIADMK	81,901	47.34	1,584
186	Sivaganga	Gunasekaran.S		CPI	75,176	47.82	Rajasekaran. V		INC	70,794	45.03	4,382
187	Manamadurai	Gunasekaran.M		AIADMK	83,535	51.68	A. Tamilarasi		DMK	69,515	43.01	14,020
188	Melur	Samy R		AIADMK	85,869	55.74	Rani R		DMK	61,407	39.86	24,462
189	Madurai East	Tamilarasan K		AIADMK	99,447	55.29	P. Moorthy		DMK	70,692	39.3	28,755
190	Sholavandan	Karuppiah M V		AIADMK	86,376	59.84	Ilanseliyan M		PMK	49,768	34.48	36,608
191	Madurai North	Bose.A.K		AIADMK	90,706	63.62	Rajendran. K. S. K		INC	44,306	31.08	46,400
192	Madurai South	Annadurai R		CPI(M)	83,441	61.59	Varadharajan S P		INC	37,990	28.04	45,451
193	Madurai Central	Sundarrajan R		DMDK	76,063	52.77	Syed Ghouse Basha		DMK	56,503	39.2	19,560
194	Madurai West	Raju K		AIADMK	94,798	59.64	G. Thalapathi		DMK	56,037	35.25	38,761
195	Thiruparankundram	Raja A.K.T		DMDK	95,469	58.7	Sundararajan C R		INC	46,967	28.88	48,502
196	Tirumangalam	Muthuramalingam M		AIADMK	101,494	55.55	Manimaran M		DMK	75,127	41.12	26,367
197	Usilampatti	Kathiravan P V		AIFB	88,253	51.22	Ramasamy S O		DMK	72,933	42.33	15,320
198	Andipatti	Thangatamilselvan		AIADMK	91,721	53.75	L. Mookiah		DMK	70,690	41.42	21,031
199	Periyakulam	Laser.A		CPI(M)	76,687	47.86	Anbazhagan. V		DMK	71,046	44.34	5,641
200	Bodinayakanur	Panneerselvam O		AIADMK	95,235	56.69	S. Lakshmanan		DMK	65,329	38.89	29,906
201	Cumbum	Eramakrishnan.N		DMK	80,307	48.58	Murugesan. P		DMDK	68,139	41.22	12,168
202	Rajapalayam	K.Gopalsamy		AIADMK	80,125	53.8	S. Thangappandian		DMK	58,693	39.41	21,432
203	Srivilliputhur	V. Ponnupandi		CPI	73,485	47.79	R. V. K. Durai		DMK	67,257	43.74	6,228
204	Sattur	R.B.Uthayakumar		AIADMK	88,918	58.32	A. Kadarkarairaj		DMK	59,573	39.07	29,345
205	Sivakasi	Rajenthra Bhalaji.K.T		AIADMK	87,333	59.17	Vanaraja . T		DMK	51,679	35.01	35,654
206	Virudhunagar	Pandiarajan.K		DMDK	70,441	52.36	Armstrongnaveen. T.		INC	49,003	36.42	21,438
207	Aruppukkottai	Vaigaichelvan		AIADMK	76,546	51.15	K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran		DMK	65,908	44.05	10,638
208	Tiruchuli	Thangam Thenarasu		DMK	81,613	54.36	Esakki Muthu		AIADMK	61,661	41.07	19,952
209	Paramakudi	Sundararaj.S		AIADMK	86,150	57.88	R. Ramprabhu		INC	51,544	34.63	34,606
210	Tiruvadanai	Sundararaj.S		DMK	64,165	41.11	Mujupur Rahman S		DMDK	63,238	40.52	927
211	Ramanathapuram	Jawahirulla		MNMK	65,831	40.96	K. Hussan Ali		INC	50,074	31.16	15,757
212	Mudhukulathur	Murugan M		AIADMK	83,225	46.87	Sathiamoorthy V		DMK	63,136	35.56	20,089
213	Vilathikulam	Markandayan. V		AIADMK	72,753	54.58	Perumalsamy. K		INC	50,156	37.63	22,597
214	Thoothukudi	Chellapandian S.T		AIADMK	89,010	56.78	P. Geetha Jeevan		DMK	62,817	40.07	26,193
215	Tiruchendur	Anitha R. Radhakrishnan		DMK	68,741	47.04	Manoharan. Pr		AIADMK	68,101	46.6	640
216	Tiruvaikuntam	Shunmuganathan.S.P		AIADMK	69,708	52.86	Sudalaiyandi. M. B		INC	48,586	36.84	21122
217	Ottapidaram	Dr.K.Krishnasamy		PT	71,330	56.41	S. Raja		DMK	46,204	36.54	25126
218	Kovilpatti	Kadambur Raju C		AIADMK	73,007	55.85	Ramachandran G		PMK	46,527	35.59	26480
219	Sankarankovil	Karuppasamy.C		AIADMK	72,297	49.99	Umamaheswari. M		DMK	61,902	42.8	10395
220	Vasudevanallur	Dr.Duraiappa.S., M.B.B.S		AIADMK	80,633	56.77	Ganesan. S		INC	52,543	37	28090
221	Kadayanallur	Chendur Pandian .P		AIADMK	80,794	49.83	S. Peter Alphonse		INC	64,708	39.91	16086
222	Tenkasi	Sarath Kumar.R		AIADMK	92,253	54.3	V. Karuppasamy Pandian		DMK	69,286	40.78	22967
223	Alangulam	P. G. Rajendran		AIADMK	78,098	47.29	Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna		DMK	77,799	47.11	299
224	Tirunelveli	Nainar Nagendran		AIADMK	86,220	54.81	A. L. S. Lakshmanan		DMK	47,729	30.34	38491
225	Ambasamudram	E Subaya		AIADMK	80,156	55.11	R Avudaiappan		DMK	55,547	38.19	24609
226	Palayamkottai	T.P.M.Mohideen Khan		DMK	58,049	42.76	V. Palani		CPI(M)	57,444	42.31	605
227	Nanguneri	A.Narayanan		AIADMK	65,510	45.91	H. Vasanthakumar		INC	53,230	37.31	12280
228	Radhapuram	S.Michael Rayappan		DMDK	67,072	48.36	P. Veldurai.		INC	45,597	32.88	21475
229	Kanniyakumari	Patchaimal.K.T		AIADMK	86,903	48.22	N. Suresh Rajan		DMK	69,099	38.34	17,804
230	Nagercoil	Nanjil Murugesan.A		AIADMK	58,819	40.01	Mahesh. R		DMK	52,092	35.43	6,727
231	Colachal	J. G. Prince		INC	58,428	40.16	Larence. P		AIADMK	46,607	32.03	11,821
232	Padmanabhapuram	Dr.Pushpa Leela Alban		DMK	59,882	41.48	S. Austin		DMDK	40,561	28.1	19,321
233	Vilavancode	S. Vijayadharani		INC	62,898	43.69	Leemarose. R		CPI(M)	39,109	27.17	23,789
234	Killiyoor	John Jacob.S		INC	56,932	41.69	Chandra Kumar. T		BJP	32,446	23.76	24,486

Reactions

M. Karunanidhi submitted his resignation to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, thus paving way for Jayalalithaa to swear-in on 16 May. After the election, Jayalalithaa thanked her supporters and said "this is not a victory for me, but a victory for the state and the country". She further stated that she wants to "rebuild the state, from the havoc created by the previous government" and insisted that she does not plan to share power with her allies. ^[103] DMDK leader, Vijaykanth, after being the second largest party in the new assembly and an important ally of AIADMK, stated that this is a "victory for the people and an end to family rule". ^[104] TDP leader and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, called and congratulated Jayalalithaa on her "victory over corruption". ^[105] After the loss, Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan, conceded defeat and wished the best for incoming CM, Jayalalithaa. While she admitted that 2G spectrum case played a huge role in their defeat, she further re-iterated that they have done everything they can to be transparent and that action has been taken against individuals responsible for the corruption. Union Minister, P. Chidambaram admitted that this was a huge loss for Congress in Tamil Nadu but does not believe this will affect the UPA government at the center, because this was a loss of an alliance led by DMK and not INC. M. Karunanidhi after the loss stated, "People have given me proper rest" and went on to congratulate the people of the state (on the election outcome). ^[106]

Analysis

Election map based on Vote % margin difference between AIADMK+ candidates and DMK+ candidates by district. The % margin for each color are as follows:

	30%-25%
	25%-20%
	20%-15%
	15%-10%
	10%-5%
	5%-0%

Pre-polls and post-polls released before the counting showed a mixed picture and a close race and failed to predict the landslide victory for the AIADMK alliance. Including this election, no incumbent party has ever won a re-election in Tamil Nadu since M.G.R's victory in 1984 election. The results were consistent with the anti-incumbency factor that is common in Tamil Nadu politics. Closer look at the results show that AIADMK swept through the state winning by big margins. AIADMK and its allies won all the seats in 12 out of the 32 districts, with margins greater than 10% over its rival DMK and its allies. Out of those 12 districts, AIADMK+ won by margins greater than 15% in seven of them. In Chennai District, which once used to be a DMK bastion, AIADMK+ won 14 out of 16 constituencies with a margin of 13.1% over DMK+. In northern Tamil Nadu which is considered to be DMK's traditional bastion, DMK and its allies just won 4 out of 62 constituencies. ^[107] DMK members blamed that the alliance with caste based Pattali Makkal Katchi and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi didn't go well with other castes and caused their downfall. ^[108] Analysts felt that the strife between Vanniyars and Dalits could have played a role in DMK+ debacle in northern region. ^[109] AIADMK's best district was the newly created Tiruppur, where they beat the DMK and its allies by a margin of 29.4%. This is consistent with the continued support for AIADMK in this region, since the former Coimbatore district was AIADMK's best performance in 2006 election. AIADMK+, did extremely well in its traditional stronghold in western Tamil Nadu. DMK, weak in this region, relied on its ally, Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam, who had a disappointing performance in this region losing by margins greater than 20% to AIADMK+. The western region was already affected with major issues like power cuts, agricultural crisis and industrial pollution and the DMK members after the election admitted that family rule could be one of the reasons for their downfall. DMK leaders after the election blamed the alienation of Dalits and other castes by KNMK due to the fact it is viewed as a party of Gounders. ^[110] DMK+, on the hand, only did better than its opponent in four districts: Nilgiris, Kanniyakumari, Thiruvarur and Perambalur, all traditional DMK strongholds. The only region, DMK+ was able to be competitive is in the Cauvery delta region, which has long been a DMK stronghold. DMK's best district was Nilgiris, which includes A. Raja's former MP constituency. DMK+ did poorly in the Madurai district, where they found a lot of success in recent years (2006 by-election & 2009 LS election), due to Azhagiri's vigorous campaigning. They were not able to win a single seat in this district, and lost by a margin of 20.9% to AIADMK-CPI(M)-DMDK combine.

Post-poll data released by CNN-IBN, showed that DMK+ did the worst amongst the poor, especially in rural areas. Major issue cited by them as a reason for voting against the DMK is supply of electricity. ^[111] Before the election, DMK was hoping that freebies and welfare schemes implemented by their administration would help them gain support from rural voters, who were an important electorate for the DMK to grab power in the previous election. This failed to take place, since many rural voters were unhappy with the distribution of these freebies in a disproportionate manner and lack of policies targeting towards income generation schemes in rural areas. This coupled with the recent food price rises resulted in a decline in rural support for the DMK. ^[112] While spiraling prices, power cut, and DMK's family politics were important factors, many analysts agree that it was the corruption charges (2G spectrum scandal), that eventually led them to their ultimate defeat. This election saw one of the worst performance of Congress in Tamil Nadu, winning only 5 seats out of 63 seats it contested. During the campaign, they were marred with in-fighting between state Congress leader K.V. Thangkabalu and other Congress members, which added to their declining support in the state. ^{[113] [114]} In both Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Congress did poorly reflecting widespread anger and disapproval.

Government formation

J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the fourth time on 16 May 2011. She submitted her unanimous election as the general secretary of the AIADMK legislature party to the governor of Tamil Nadu Surjit Singh Barnala on 15 May 2011. ^[115] She was sworn in along with 33 other ministers at the Madras University centenary auditorium on 16 May 2011 by the governor, at the same venue where she took the oath in 1991 when she first became chief minister. She and all the other ministers took oaths in Tamil. The ceremony was attended by chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu, and general secretary of the Communist Party of India A. B. Bardhan, among others. ^[116]

References

1. "Challenge is to conduct peaceful polls in West Bengal: CEC". Sify . 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
2. "தங்கத்தின் விலையில் தக்காளி... வெள்ளி விலையில் வெங்காயம்!". Dina Malar. 15 January 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
3. Preetha, M. Soundariya (11 April 2011). "Price rise: an election issue". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
4. "Groping in the dark". Front line. 2 November 2012.
5. "மே 15 வரை மின்வெட்டு: ஆற்காடு வீராசாமி அறிவிப்பு". Oneindia Tamil. 3 March 2009.
6. "தமிழகம் முழுவதும் மின்வெட்டு நேரம் அதிகரிப்பு : பற்றாக்குறையால் மின்வாரியம் அதிரடி". Dinamalar. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021.
7. "ஆட்சியை பறித்தது ஊழல், குடும்ப தலையீடு, விலைவாசி உயர்வு...!". Dinamalar. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
8. "AIADMK shows its strength in Coimbatore". economictimes. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
9. "Trichy: Jayalalithaa targets DMK in mega rally". NDTV. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
10. "Jayalalitha holds mega rally in DMK bastion". rediff. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
11. "Jayalalithaa rallies in Madurai despite threats". DNA India. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
12. "2011 Assembly elections to be turning point: Jaya". 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
13. "TMMK wing to hold talks with AIADMK". The Hindu. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
14. "அதிமுக.,விற்கு ஆதரவு : சீமான் பேட்டி". Dina Malar. 10 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
15. "அதிமுக - தேமுதிக கூட்டணி அமைய வேண்டும்: சோ". Dina Mani. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
16. "அ.தி.மு.க. அணியில் சேர தே.மு.தி.க.வுக்கு அழைப்பு: தா. பாண்டியன்". Dina Mani. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
17. "அதிமுகவுடன் கூட்டணி தொடரும்: தா.பாண்டியன்". Dina Mani. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
18. "CPI (M) announces alliance with AIADMK in TN". The Hindu. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
19. Balaji, J. (5 January 2011). "Baalu meets Sonia Gandhi, complains against Elangovan". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
20. "அதிமுக - காங்கிரஸ் கூட்டணி கிடையாது: ஜெயலலிதா". Dina Mani. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
21. "அ.தி.மு.க. அணியில் கார்த்திக் கட்சி". Dina Mani. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
22. "அதிமுக கூட்டணிக்கு ஆதரவு இல்லை: ராம. கோபாலன்". Dina Mani. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
23. "அ.தி.மு.க., வுடன் கூட்டணி மக்கள் விருப்பம்: பண்ருட்டி ராமச்சந்திரன்". Dina Malar. 24 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
24. "மீனவர்கள் மீதான தாக்குதலைத் தடுக்காதது ஏன்? - நடிகர் விஜய்". Dina Mani. 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
25. Srividya, P. V. (23 February 2011). "Mob frenzy at Vijay's public meeting". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
26. "Actor Vijay's Makkal Iyakkam to support AIADMK". The Hindu. 27 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
27. "ஜெயலலிதாவுடன் எஸ்.ஏ.சந்திரசேகரன் மூன்றாவது முறையாக சந்திப்பு". Dina Mani. 20 February 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
28. "கூட்டணிக் கட்சிகள் கடும் அதிர்ச்சி!". Dina Mani. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
29. "அ.தி.மு.க., - தே.மு.தி.க., தொகுதிகள் பங்கீடு : 13 மணி நேர பேச்சுவார்த்தைக்கு பின் சமரசம்". Dina Mani. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
30. "ஆணவப்போக்குடன் அ.தி.மு.க., பிடிவாதம்; கூட்டணியில் இருந்து வெளியேறியது ம.தி.மு.க." Dina Mani. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
31. "AIADMK set to contest 160 seats". Deccan Herald. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
32. "AIADMK allots 41 seats to actor Vijaykanth's DMDK". NDTV. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
33. "AIADMK allots 12 seats to CPI(M), 10 to CPI". The Hindu. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
34. "Jayalalithaa allots 3 seats for Manithaneya Makkal Katchi". The Hindu. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
35. "AIADMK allots one seat to AIMMK". The Hindu . 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
36. "AIADMK inks poll pact with All India Forward Bloc". Sify . 23 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
37. "Sarath Kumar's party gets two seats in AIADMK alliance". The Hindu. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
38. "Kongu Ilaignar Peravai given one seat". The Hindu. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
39. "காங்கிரஸூக்கு அதிக இடங்கள்: தங்கபாலு நம்பிக்கை". Dina Mani. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
40. Ramakrishnan, T. (5 March 2011). "DMK to pull out of UPA government". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
41. Ramakrishnan, T. (8 March 2011). "DMK, Congress clinch deal". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
42. "தி.மு.க.,வுடன் கூட்டணி: இந்திய முஸ்லிம் லீக் முடிவு". Dina Malar. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
43. "திமுக கூட்டணி வெற்றிக்கு பாடுபடுவோம்: திருமாவளவன்". Dina Mani. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
44. "விரைவில் பதவி விலகுவேன்: முதல்வர் கருணாநிதி". Dina Mani. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
45. "திமுக கூட்டணியில் பாமக: கருணாநிதி". Dina Mani. 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
46. "Alliance not yet final: PMK". The Times of India . 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
47. "Actor-politician S Ve Shekher joins Congress". The Hindu. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
48. "தங்கபாலு மனைவி வேட்புமனு தள்ளுபடியானது; எதிர்ப்புகள் மத்தியில் மயிலை வேட்பாளரானவர்". Dina Mani. 28 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
49. Ramakrishnan, T. (5 March 2011). "DMK to pull out Ministers from UPA government". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
50. "DMK, Congress clinch deal". The Hindu . 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
51. Ramakrishnan, T. (17 March 2011). "Karunanidhi, Stalin shift constituencies". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
52. "Vaiko firm on poll boycott". The Hindu. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
53. "Lok Satta Web Site". Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
54. "These six could be candidates with a difference". The Hindu . 26 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
55. "தமிழகத் தேர்தலில் பா.ஜ.க. தனித்து போட்டி: இல. கணேசன்". Dina Mani. 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
56. "பாஜக வேட்பாளர்கள் பட்டியல்". One India. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
57. "'சசிகலா குடும்பத்தினரின் பிடியில் ஜெயலலிதா': சுப்பிரமணிய சாமி". One India. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
58. "Third front will play spoilsport". The Times of India . 26 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
59. "கோவில்பட்டியில் கார்த்திக் போட்டி?". Dina Mani. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
60. "திமுக கூட்டணிக்கு நடிகர் கார்த்திக் கட்சி ஆதரவு". Dinamani. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
61. "பகுஜன் சமாஜ் வேட்பாளர் பட்டியல்". One India. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
62. "திமுகவிலிருந்து வெளியறிய புதிய பாரதம் 40 தொகுதிகளில் போட்டி". One India. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
63. "27 தொகுதிகளில் போட்டியிட அகில இந்திய பாரம்பரிய மீனவர் சங்கம் முடிவு". Dina Mani. 21 February 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
64. "தி.மு.க.,வுக்கு எதிராக அனைத்து கட்சிகளும் திரள வேண்டும் : தே.மு.தி.க., மாநாட்டில் தீர்மானம்". Dina Malar. 10 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
65. "ஜெயலலிதாவின் புதிய தேர்தல் சுற்றுப் பயணம்-முழு விவரம்". One India. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
66. "Jayalalithaa promises golden reign". The Hindu . 7 April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
67. "Actor Vijay's Makkal Iyakkam to support AIADMK". The Hindu. 27 March 2011.
68. "Who will outshine the other?". The Hindu . 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
69. "திரைத் துறையினர் ஆட்சிக்கு வர வாய்ப்பளிக்கக் கூடாது: ராமதாஸ்". Dina Mani. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
70. "வன்னிய முதல்வர் : ராமதாஸ் ஏக்கம்". Dina Malar. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
71. "Alliance yet to be finalised: KMK". The Times of India . 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
72. "நடிகர் வடிவேலு பிரசாரத்தில் காலணி வீச்சு". Dinamani. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
73. "தி.மு.க. கூட்டணிக்காக நெப்போலியன், பாக்யராஜ், நடிகை குஷ்பு சூறாவளி பிரசாரம்!". One India. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
74. "தேர்தல் வந்தால்தான் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு மக்களின் ஞாபகம் வரும்: நடிகை குஷ்பு மதுரையில் பிரசாரம்". Dinamani. 26 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
75. "DMK, Congress have a lot in common, says Sonia". The Hindu . 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
76. "Congress and DMK will continue partnership, says Rahul". The Hindu. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
77. "Jayalalithaa swarms voters with freebies". The Hindu. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
78. "கல்லூரி மாணவர்களுக்கு இலவச லேப்டாப்; பெண்களுக்கு இலவச கிரைண்டர்-மிக்ஸி: திமுக தேர்தல் அறிக்கை". One India. 19 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
79. "தலையங்கம்: நாங்க மாறிட்டோம்.. நீங்க?". Dinamani. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
80. "தேர்தல் ஆணையமே வெற்றி நாயகன்". Dinamani. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
81. Balaji, J. (8 April 2011). "Tamil Nadu a challenging case, says CEC". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
82. "Polls 2011: EC probing huge purchase of T-shirts in Tamil Nadu". DNA. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
83. "EC curbs on money power, a new electoral variable". Live Mint. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
84. "Case filed against actor Vadivelu". The Hindu. 27 March 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
85. "Tamil Nadu: Actress Khushboo booked for violating Code of Conduct". The Indian Express. 27 March 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
86. Srikrishna, L. (5 April 2011). "Official denies scuffle with DMK workers". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
87. "DMK MP held for assaulting Dalit, 7 others". The Hindu . 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
88. "Deccan Chronicle". 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
89. "Opinion poll says AIADMK will come to power". The Hindu . 1 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
90. Sundar, Sidharth Goutham (2 April 2011). "Opinion polls on Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2011". Truth Dive. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
91. "AIADMK Is Leading – Loyola College Students survey 2011 Election – People Studies". Newsreporter. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
92. "- YouTube". YouTube .
93. "UDF Set to Snatch Power From LDF in Kerala: Post-Poll Survey. Read more". India Today . 28 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
94. "Tamil Nadu: Jaya ahead, but too close to call. READ MORE". 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011.
95. "Mamata Jaya may Thump Rivals". Deccan Herald . 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
96. "Tamil Nadu Votes Polled Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
97. Balaji, J. (1 March 2011). "4 States, Puducherry go to polls from April 4 to May 10". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
98. Ramakrishnan, T. (14 April 2011). "77.8% polling in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
99. "வெற்றி கிடைக்குமா: தி.மு.க., திடீர் சர்வே". Dinamalar. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
100. "Huge 12.41 % vote swing responsible for AIADMK landslide". The Hindu. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
101. "Mutual vote transfer worked better in AIADMK front". The Hindu. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
102. Detailes Result (PDF). Election Commission of Tamil Nadu (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
103. "Queen Bee Jaya wants to "rebuild" TN". Zee News. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
104. "It's people's victory: Vijayakanth". Mangalorean Times. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
105. "Chandrababu congratulates jayalalithaa". The Times of India. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
106. "People have given me proper rest says karunanidhi". The Indian Express. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
107. "Sun sets in DMK strongholds in Northern TN". The Times of India. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
108. "Repair the alliance". Thinakaran. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
109. "DMDK's big gains at PMK, VCK expense". The Times of India. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
110. "Western belt still AIADMK bastion". The Hindu . 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
111. "Tamil Nadu - Post Poll 2011". Manorama Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
112. "Rural voters irked over discrepancies in distribution of freebies". The Hindu . 7 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 April 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
113. "Tamil Nadu polls DMK leading in one seat". CNN-IBN. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
114. "The dramatic battle for Tamil Nadu". CNN-IBN. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
115. "Jayalalithaa to be sworn in today". The Hindu. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
116. "Jayalalithaa sworn in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister". The Hindu. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011.