Two hours since the counting of votes began and early trends show a big win for actor Vijay's new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). In Tamil Nadu, where votes were cast for 234 seats, a tug of war is playing out between TVK, currently leading in 85 seats and the AIADMK-led alliance leading in 77 seats. The ruling DMK in alliance with Congress and DMDK has taken a third spot.

In West Bengal, where people voted for 294 seats, it is a battle between the Trinamool Congress helmed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP has crossed the half mark and is leading in over 160 seats, according to early trends. Mamata Banerjee's part on the other hand is leading in over 110 seats.

The election holds importance for two reasons - first, Bengal has long avoided the BJP. And second, Mamata Banerjee has waged a war against the Election Commission over the voter roll clean-up exercise Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that removed 89 lakh voters -  roughly 11.6 per cent of the state's electorate. The figure is slightly more than the winning margin of the Trinamool Congress in 2021.