Chennai: The ruling AIADMK on Tuesday scored a spectacular win in all three Assembly constituencies that went to elections on Saturday with impressive margins over rival DMK candidates. The three seats won pushes up the party’s strength in the Tamil Nadu Assembly to 136 of 235.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s appeal from the hospital bed and extensive canvassing of votes on the ground by almost the entire cabinet, in batches, seem to have worked wonders for the ruling party as all three constituencies – Thanjavur, Aravakurichi and Thiruparankundram – fell into the AIADMK’s kitty.
The expected victory led to large-scale celebrations among senior leaders, ministers and party cadres of the AIADMK for the second time in three days. On Saturday, they burst crackers and distributed sweets to celebrate the shifting of their leader Ms Jayalalithaa from the CCU of the Apollo Hospital to a special room.
The AIADMK was quick to attribute the by-poll victory to the “excellent administration” led by Ms Jayalalithaa, while the DMK dubbed the win as a result of “money power” and claimed that the ruling party would face defeat in coming elections.
