The ruling DMK took an early lead in a number of constituencies across Tamil Nadu as election officials first took up the count of postal ballots at 8 am on Tuesday.
Chief Minister M K Stalin-led party's star candidates Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), T R Baalu (Sriperumbudur) and Dayanidhi Maran (Central Chennai) were among the ruling party leaders who were leading in modest numbers at the close of count of postal ballots by 8.30 a.m, according to regional television reports.
Similarly, allies of the DMK including Congress party's Karti Chidambaram (Sivaganga) and Marxist party candidate Su Venkatesan (Madurai) had slender lead over others.
Counting of votes, amid tight security, polled in the April 19 Lok Sabha elections to 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu began at 8 a.m across the state. As many as 950 candidates are in the fray in the 39 Lok Sabha segments in the state, which had a voter turnout of 69.72 per cent in the single-phase election in Tamil Nadu.