The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government of Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) looks to be heading for safety, as it leads in nine of the 22 assembly seats for which by-elections were held along with Lok Sabha polls.

Of the trends available in 21 of the 22 seats from the Election Commission at 11.20 am that went to polls, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was leading in 12 assembly constituencies.

If the trend holds good until the results are announced, it should be some relief for the EPS government, which seems to be not doing well in the Lok Sabha elections, going by initial trends.

The leading trends show that the AIADMK has garnered 39.45 per cent of the votes cast, while the DMK has got 43.7 per cent. Other parties like the newly-formed Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and Makkal Needhi Maiam have been able to wrest nearly 16 per cent of the votes.

AIADMK needs to win at least four of the 22 seats to get the required majority in the 235-member state assembly. On the other hand, the DMK will have to win at least in 21 constituencies.

In the current assembly, the AIADMK’s strength is 113 and it can bank on the support of Speaker P Dhanapal. An independent could also come in handy in the event of a trust vote as also the nominated Anglo Indian community member.

The DMK has 88 members and look for support from the eight members of the Congress plus the lone Indian Union Muslim League member.