DMK won the Tirumangalam bye-election by a comfortable margin with its candidate Latha Athiyaman trouncing her nearest AIADMK rival M Muthuramalingam.
DMK won the Tirumangalam bye-election by a comfortable margin with its candidate Latha Athiyaman trouncing her nearest AIADMK rival M Muthuramalingam by 39,266 votes.
With the win, the DMK added one more seat to its tally in the 234-member state assembly as its strength rose to 97 including Speaker R Avudiappan.
In the 2006 assembly poll, DMK lost the seat to MDMK when its nominee Veera Ilavarasan won the seat by a margin of over 3,500 votes. The seat was vacant after Ilavarasan died following a cardiac arrest last year.
Reacting to the DMK's victory, party leader and chief minister M Karunanidhi in Chennai described the result as a "reward for the achievements" of his government. It was also an indicator of the party's future in the Lok Sabha polls. If the DMK had lost, the opposition might have interpreted it negatively, he said.
The AIADMK, which wanted to test its popularity, requested its ally MDMK to leave the seat for it. AIADMK was strengthened with CPI-M and CPI putting their weight behind the main opposition, after leaving the DMK front.
For the DMK-led front, it was a hattrick, winning all three bypolls held after the 2006 assembly polls. DMK had won Madurai West, while its ally Congress wrested Madurai central from AIADMK, when its nominee KS Rajendran won.
In Tirumangalam bye-election, T Dhanpandian, candidate of actor-turned-politician Vijaykant's DMDK, who secured 19,970 votes in the last elections, managed just 13,186 votes and lost his deposit. Padmanabhan of the All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi, headed by yet another actor-turned-politician Saratkumar, also lost his deposit. The constituency recorded 88.68 per cent votes, which was highest in its history.
The win at Tirumangalam is a personal triumph for Karunanidhi's Madurai-based elder son MK Azhagiri, who was the campaign manager for the DMK.
Azhagiri was initially reluctant to take up the job, citing health reasons, but his younger sibling and DMK Treasurer MK Stalin convinced him.
The campaign for the bypoll was marred by allegations of use of money to lure voters by both the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK. The opposition party had also alleged that DMK had planned to indulge in malpractices on the polling day.
In the wake of a series of complaints and incidents of violence, the Election Commission had ordered the transfer of three top police officials in the area, besides directing the officials to register a criminal case against Stalin for "bribing" voters. However, the DMK had denied the allegation. AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa, in a bid to woo the voters, undertook a three-day whirlwind tour of the semi-urban constituency.
Karunanidhi, along with TNCC president KV Thangabalu addressed a public meeting at Tirumangalam. Thangabalu also described the victory as a forerunner to the Lok Sabha polls.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}