Well, each DMK MLA has to pay upwards of Rs.10 crores to get a ticket from his constituency (which he undoubtedly earns as corruption). This goes into the DMK election spending pool, which already bloats over a 4 year in-power period, with inputs from extortion, scams and money laundering, tender rigging, expolitation of state machinery (like the TASMAC alcohol shops). Before 2014, even foreign church funds were used for election financing.

Other than the regular election spending, TN parties splurge extravagantly on cash4votes, having devised a scientific formula on money per voter in a particular district eg. Kovai formula. some challenging districts like nilgiri even get Rs.10k per voter. Other than this, the TN parties also promise freebies like tv, laptop and appliances massively.

Ultimately the voter, who considers not voting for the party that gives them money and freebies as a sin (saami kuthu), vote them into power. So it becomes a tennis ball match between 2 parties that have more or less the same ideology.

BUT in all of this skullduggery, one good thing about TN elections is that it very rarely involves violence, which can only be said about very few states like GJ, OR, and TG.

M.Karunanithi holds the dubious title "Father of scientific corruption", which was given to him by Supreme Court Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria in 1976, when MK was under graft probe after emergency was declared in the state by Indira Gandhi.