Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 4 (ANI): Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay is leading in the Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituency at the end of the first round of counting by a margin of 1,669 votes, following the counting of votes for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections began on Monday.

TVK chief and former actor Vijay is contesting from Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur seats too, with a lot depending on today's performance and his party's political debut in Tamil Nadu.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is contesting the elections alone, against the NDA alliance led by AIADMK, along with the BJP. While the DMK led alliance, along with Congress, is looking to retain power in the state.

His main rival, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate Inigo Irudayaraj, is trailing behind in the initial round, according to early counting trends.

TVK chief Vijay's entry had turned the Tamil Nadu polls triangular. The politics in the state have traditionally been dominated by alliances led by the DMK and AIADMK.

Furthermore, fifteen TVK candidate leading in early trends. Among them, G Ramamoorthi from Tiruchirappalli (west), Senthil Kumar N from Srivaikuntam seat, Saravanan G from Thiruvottiyur seat, and Sathish Christopher from Radhapuram are leading in the early trend.

Party workers and supporters were seen gathering early morning outside the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) headquarters as the counting of votes for all 234 Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies will begin at 8 am on Monday, amid tight security arrangements throughout Chennai.

The process commenced with the counting of postal ballots at 8:00 am, followed by EVM counting from 8:30 am. Round-wise results updated in real time on the ECINET platform and the official Election Commission portal.

In Tamil Nadu, the political narrative appears relatively predictable after exit polls, though equally intense. The ruling DMK-led alliance is widely expected to retain power, supported by strong voter turnout and favourable exit polls.

Tamil Nadu is one of the four states (Assam, West Bengal, and Keralam) and the union territory of Puducherry, which will have its results for polling, which took place on April 23, with Bengal having the second phase of polling on April 29.

Meanwhile, at Queen Mary's College counting centre, postal votes also began being counted. Extremely early leads in postal ballots have shown the DMK is in the early lead. In Chepauk Triplicane, DMK has received 21 postal votes, AIADMK 7, and TVK 6. In Harbour, DMK has 19, AIADMK 7, and TVK 9. In RK Nagar, DMK has 22 postal votes, AIADMK 7, TVK 11.

Royapuram has counted 10 for DMK, 7 for AIADMK, and 6 for TVK. Meanwhile, Thiruvikanagar has counted 9 for DMK, 5 for AIADMK, and TVK - 10. (ANI)