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Chennai: Continuing its winning streak, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Saturday scored a big victory in the Vikravandi Assembly bypoll, where a vacancy was caused following the death of its legislator N Pugazhenthi.
The DMK candidate Anniyur Siva, polled 1,24,053 votes, defeating his nearest rival C Anbumani of the PMK, by a huge margin of 67,757 votes in the bypoll that witnessed a massive 82.48% voter turnout. The Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate Abinaya came a distant third polling just 10,602 votes. Except for the winner and runner up the remaining 27 candidates forfeited their deposits in the bypoll.
The principal opposition party, AIADMK, had boycotted the bypoll citing past incidents of alleged irregularities by the ruling party in byelections. The BJP backed the PMK candidate.
A closer analysis of the final votes polled by the different candidates – in comparison to the votes polled by them in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the Vikravandi Assembly segment of the Villupuram (SC) Parliamentary constituency - showed that at least two-thirds of the voters, who favoured AIADMK, have likely drifted to the DMK. The remaining one-third, most presumably members of the Vanniyar community, has backed the PMK candidate.
Reacting to the massive victories of the DMK candidate as well as of the INDIA bloc candidates in bypolls elsewhere in the country, party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin said, the BJP, which was unable to form a Government at the Centre on its own, was continuing to face defeats. The party, which is in power “at the mercy of a few political parties”, must learn lessons from its defeat now, he said.
“It should realise that it cannot run the party and the Government without respecting the sentiments of States,” Stalin said, the DMK’s win in Vikravandi, proved “Tamil Nadu always required the DMK for its development and people’s welfare.” He saw the victory as a jewel in the crown of the DMK Government, which has been implementing various welfare schemes.
