Voting has commenced this morning in the high-stakes assembly elections in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In Tamil Nadu, 57.3 million voters are heading to over 75,000 polling stations to decide the electoral fate of 4,023 candidates. As of 9:00 a.m. local time (03:30 UTC/GMT), the state recorded a voter turnout of 17.69%, signaling strong early momentum despite logistical challenges.

This election is expected to see participation from over 1.46 million first-time voters, which could break past voting records. The main contenders include the ruling DMK party led by M.K. Stalin, the opposition AIADMK led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami, actor-politician Vijay's newly formed TVK party, and Senthamilan Seeman's NTK party.

The polling follows a high-energy election campaign and a controversial voter roll revision in multiple states. Meanwhile, temperatures have soared in northern India, prompting the weather agency to issue heatwave warnings, while northeastern states are likely to receive light showers and thunderstorms. Updates will be provided as the news develops.

Source: www.dw.com