Western region records highest turnout in Tamil Nadu elections 2026

By: Shanmughsundaram.j

Several districts of western Tamil Nadu registered higher turnout than the state average. Cumulatively, the eight districts of the western zone recorded an 88 % turnout of voters, higher than the 2021 participation levels.
Historically a stronghold for the AIADMK and its leader, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the region saw Salem and its neighbours—Dharmapuri, Erode, and Namakkal—all breach the 90% voter turnout mark. Salem district, home turf of EPS, led the region with 90.13% turnout, with constituencies such as Veerapandi and Sankari crossing the 90% mark.
In 2021 too, the western region recorded a higher turnout than other parts of the state.



Poll watchers say the surge reflected intense voter mobilization in a belt that has historically delivered significant seat shares to the AIADMK. Among western districts, The Nilgiris remained an outlier, recording the region’s lowest turnout at 78.95%.
The ruling DMK’s bastion—the northern region, spanning 10 districts from Cuddalore to Tiruvannamalai—recorded the second-highest turnout. More than 1.38 crore electors cast their ballots, accounting for an 87.36% turnout. This is a 11.74% increase over 2021, when the region recorded 75.62% participation (1.32 crore voters). In 2021, DMK and its allies swept this region, winning the lion’s share of seats, and the high turnout today suggests a high-stakes effort to retain that dominance.
Though Karur district in central Tamil Nadu, emerged as the state’s topper with 92.64% turnout, the combined turnout of the central region comprising nine districts put it only in third position.
Remarkably, the Karur assembly segment—which was the site of a tragic stampede during TVK chief Vijay’s roadshow that claimed 41 lives—recorded the highest polling in the state at 93.3%. It was a repeat of the 2021 election, when the constituency topped the list with 84.13% of polling.
While the southern region saw its turnout increase by nearly 10% over 2021 to reach 81%, there was relatively lower turnout compared to the rest of the state. Of the 1.17 crore electors who cast their ballots, participation remained tepid compared to the north and the west. Notably, four of the five districts with the state’s lowest turnout are in the south: Tirunelveli (77.93%), Ramanathapuram (77.03%), Sivaganga (76.61%), and Kanyakumari (75.61%).
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