Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and spokesperson Kanimozhi NVN Somu on Monday said Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's (TVK) early lead in its debut election could be driven by actor-turned-politician Vijay's strong fan base, even as she expressed confidence that the DMK would secure a "good number" of seats.

Early trends for the vote counting to select the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly have the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) putting up a surprise show in their poll debut, with the party leading in 104 seats amid early trends by the Election Commission of India.

"He has a good amount of fan base. All his fans would have voted for him... Tamil Nadu has a history of people coming from cinema who are able to make it to politics. This is nothing new for us. But anyway, the numbers will play... DMK will win with a good number. We have to see how much of the vote share, what is the percentage of the vote he's going to really take away from whom. That will be the biggest question for the day for us..." Somu told ANI as counting progressed.

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.

RAED MORE: Will BJP make inroads in West Bengal, Kerala and return in Assam?

Apart from Tamil Nadu, counting is underway across 823 constituencies in key regions including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The process begins with postal ballots, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines from 8:30 am, with round-wise results being updated in real time on the ECINET platform and the Election Commission's official portal.