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Along with the Lok Sabha election, Tamil Nadu will also be voting for 18 Assembly constituencies in the state on Thursday. Voting will also be held in 35 of 147 assembly seats and five of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha on Thursday.
Voting for the remaining four of the 22 vacant seats will be held on May 19. The bypolls hold great significance for the AIADMK government as they are crucial to keep the two-year-old Palaniswami government, which has a wafer-thin majority, safe. The AIADMK currently has 113 members (excluding the Speaker) while DMK-led alliance has 97 MLAs.
The vacancies in Tamil Nadu were created both by the death of sitting MLAs, including DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi, and the disqualification of ruling AIADMK members in August 2017. The members had revolted against Chief Minister K Palaniswami after he merged his led faction with that of O Panneerselvam, then a rebel leader. As many as 18 MLAs were disqualified by Speaker P Dhanapal then which was later upheld by the Madras High Court.
For the first time, Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik will contest the Odisha assembly polls from two seats - Bijepur and his home turf Hinjili. Patnaik is seeking re-election for the fifth consecutive term in the state. He has been winning the Hinjili assembly seat in south Odisha in successive assembly elections since 2000.
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