Chennai, Dec 24: Dealing a body blow to the ruling AIADMK, ousted leader T T V Dhinakaran won the
high-profile R K Nagar Assembly by-election by a margin of 40,707
votes.
Dhinakaran, the former Lok Sabha MP from
Periyakulam, is the first Independent candidate to win from this
prestigious seat, which was twice won by former Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2015 and 2016, whose death in December last
year necessitated the bypoll.
Dhinakaran's victory margin was slightly higher than the 39,545 vote margin won by Jayalalithaa last year.
This was also for the first time, an Independent has won a bypoll, bucking the trend of ruling party ending up winners.
Dhinakaran, who is also the nephew of V K Sasikala, became the first Independent MLA since the 2001 when M Appavu won from Radhapuram.
Mr Dhinakaran polled 89,013 votes to defeat his nearest ruling AIADMK rival and former Minister E Madhusudhanan, who polled 48,306 votes, to emerge a clear winner.
N Maruthu Ganesh of the principal opposition DMK, which had the support of Congress, MDMK, VCK, the Left Parties, IUML and other friendly parties, finished third, polling 24,651 votes.
Dhinakaran's victory margin was slightly higher than the 39,545 vote margin won by Jayalalithaa last year.
This was also for the first time, an Independent has won a bypoll, bucking the trend of ruling party ending up winners.
Dhinakaran, who is also the nephew of V K Sasikala, became the first Independent MLA since the 2001 when M Appavu won from Radhapuram.
Mr Dhinakaran polled 89,013 votes to defeat his nearest ruling AIADMK rival and former Minister E Madhusudhanan, who polled 48,306 votes, to emerge a clear winner.
N Maruthu Ganesh of the principal opposition DMK, which had the support of Congress, MDMK, VCK, the Left Parties, IUML and other friendly parties, finished third, polling 24,651 votes.
Surprisingly Kalaikotudhayam of Naam Tamizhar
Party finished fourth, polling 3,860 votes, ahead of BJP's
Nagaraj, who polled 1,417 votes and finished sixth, bagging less
votes than NOTA (2,373 votes).
Except Dhinakaran and Madhusudhanan all other candidates forfeited their deposits as they failed to secure one-sixth of the total votes polled.
Though there were 59 candidates in the fray, it eventually turned out to be a one-horse race, as Dhinakaran led from start to finish.
Having established an unassailable lead right from the first round, the gap kept widening with every passing round before completing a thumping victory.
Talking to reporters, a beaming Dhinakaran, who contested under the 'Pressure Cooker' symbol, said the RK Nagar voters reflected the mindset of the people of the state towards the AIADMK regime headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
Reacting to the poll outcome, Opposition leaders said money power played a key role.
DMK Working President M K Stalin, in a statement, said it was not a defeat for his party, but a Himalayan defeat for the Election Commission of India, which remained silent when voters were bribed even on the polling day.
Despite the High court stating that those bribing voters should be dealt with an iron hand, the police and the EC remained silent, he alleged.
(ED : PICK UP SUITABLY FROM EARLIER SERIES). UNI
Except Dhinakaran and Madhusudhanan all other candidates forfeited their deposits as they failed to secure one-sixth of the total votes polled.
Though there were 59 candidates in the fray, it eventually turned out to be a one-horse race, as Dhinakaran led from start to finish.
Having established an unassailable lead right from the first round, the gap kept widening with every passing round before completing a thumping victory.
Talking to reporters, a beaming Dhinakaran, who contested under the 'Pressure Cooker' symbol, said the RK Nagar voters reflected the mindset of the people of the state towards the AIADMK regime headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
Reacting to the poll outcome, Opposition leaders said money power played a key role.
DMK Working President M K Stalin, in a statement, said it was not a defeat for his party, but a Himalayan defeat for the Election Commission of India, which remained silent when voters were bribed even on the polling day.
Despite the High court stating that those bribing voters should be dealt with an iron hand, the police and the EC remained silent, he alleged.
(ED : PICK UP SUITABLY FROM EARLIER SERIES). UNI
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