DMK sweeps Vandavasi, Tiruchendur by-election

Dec. 23: The ruling DMK continued its winning streak handsomely winning both the Tiruchendur and Vandavasi assembly seats for which by-elections were held on December 19.

The results, announced on Wednesday at the end of counting of votes closely monitored by chief electoral officer Naresh Gupta through web cameras, meant yet another blow to opposition AIADMK in its first electoral outing since the Lok Sabha polls in May. Former AIADMK minister Anitha Radhakrishnan contesting on the DMK ticket wrested Tiruchendur, considered an AIADMK bastion, by a huge margin of 46,861 votes.

The by-poll here had been caused by his crossing over to the DMK after resigning the MLA seat won as an AIADMK candidate in the 2006 assembly elections. DMK’s Kamalakannan won by over 38,000 votes in Vandavasi, where the by-election was caused by the death of his father Jayaraman. The DMDK of actor Vijayakanth lost deposits in both the constituencies.

While the opposition leaders fretted and fumed, even complaining that the ruling party had scored its victories through foul means, there were wide smiles in the DMK camp at the end of this bitterly fought by-elections. “This is a magnificent victory for the DMK party supported by its allies. It has demonstrated the increasing public support for us,” chief minister M. Karunanidhi said.

“People came out in larger numbers than ever because the DMK government’s good schemes reached them,” the chief minister said in a happy interaction with the media after the results were announced.

His son and deputy chief minister M. K. Stalin described the poll results as “two diamonds” in Kalaignar’s crown and said the victory “reflects the people’s support for the DMK’s good governance.”

Brother Alagiri in Madurai too expressed similar sentiments and exuded confidence that the DMK would early win the coming by-election in Pennagaram assembly constituency and continue the winning streak in the next state polls.