Counting of votes in Tamil Nadu begins in a contest that looks familiar on the surface and unsettled underneath. The state’s 234-seat Assembly, long dominated by the alternating rhythms of the DMK and the AIADMK, has rarely gone into a result day without a discernible wave – for or against a leader, a government, a moment. Instead, there are signals – uneven, overlapping, sometimes contradictory. The ruling DMK enters with what most parties privately concede is an edge, built on incumbency, welfare delivery and a statewide campaign machine. The AIADMK, led by Edappadi K Palaniswami, hopes that edge is narrower than it appears. And Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has introduced a third variable that neither side can fully map. As counting trends begin to flicker, five questions will shape the day — and perhaps the next phase of Tamil Nadu politics. Not who leads — but by how much Tamil Nadu elections are not usually shy about their verdicts.…