Chennai

Though the margin secured by the winners over their nearest rivals was more than those secured by a majority of AIADMK candidates in the May 16 Assembly polls, political observers say that the difference was compared when it is viewed in terms of TN’s by-poll history. But a common view of all of them is that it is an impressive show by the AIADMK despite the fact that Jayalalithaa was completely absent from the campaign scene owing to her health condition. “With just one statement days before the elections, the AIADMK supremo has ensured the victory of her party candidates in all the three seats. It looks like a repeat of 1984, when late MGR was in a US hospital and led his party to victory in the Assembly polls then,” says K Ravichandran, a political analyst. Interestingly, in all the three segments the AIADMK has won by a margin of around 15,000 votes. “So, this shows that electorate still favour Jayalalithaa,” says Ganesan a political analyst in Chennai. 

In the case of Thanjavur, the ‘next door man’ image earned by M Rengasamy, who contested on an AIADMK ticket, helped him cruise to victory with ease seems to be the popular reason attributed by many. On the other hand, DMK candidate Anjugam Bhoopathy, a new face to the people of the capital of erstwhile Chola kingdom, attempted to sail through with her family connection and her father’s popularity among the party cadre and voters. 

Despite the intensive campaign by DMK treasurer and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly MK Stalin, she lost the polls. “Two key factors that led to the drubbing of DMK in this segment was the Cauvery dispute and the Coal-bed Methane project. The results show that the people’s disappointment with the DMK over the two issues has not faded yet,” says Ramesh, a political observer from Thanjavur. 

“At the same time, it was during the regime of Jayalalithaa that the State won a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court in the Cauvery row and a resolution blocking the coal-bed methane project was adopted in the Assembly,” points out Maravarman, a Left party cadre. Regarding the Aravakurichi segment, initially it was touted to be a neck-to-neck race. However, the AIADMK camp utilised the sand mining issue very well to its favour. 

“Stalin’s promise to put an end to the illegal sand mining in the district during the campaign trail does not have gone down well with the people,” says Chandrakumar, a lawyer from Karur. While the victory of AIADMK’s AK Bose at Tiruparankundram was a foregone conclusion because of his good work and popularity in the constituency, the problems for Dr Saravanan of DMK was in the form of expired stent case and Alagiri factor. “The groupism within the DMK is the main cause and spoiled their prospects in Tiruparankundram. Further, the cadre should have been little more active on the field like in the past,” opines S Murali, a BJP cadre from Madurai.

AIADMK cadre in Chennai in a jubilant mood after the party’s impressive show in the three segments 

Mandate for schemes, says Jayalalithaa

Lauding the voters in Aravakurichi, Thanjavur and Tiruparankundram for handing out a thumping victory for her party, Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa said that this poll victory was a vindication of the AIADMK government’s achievements, welfare schemes and policies with a long term vision.

Officially announcing the victory of her party candidates, Jayalalithaa said that her men have defeated their rivals by a huge margin in each of the constituencies. “By making our candidates win with a huge margin of votes, you have yet again proved that the people are on my side. Keeping your expectations in mind, I will continue my work as best as I can,” Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said in a party release on Tuesday. “This victory has given me im mense joy and encouragement even as I am still recovering in the hospital.” Jayalalithaa also thanked all those party cadres who had been  stationed outside the Apollo Hospitals since the day she was admitted, the various dignitaries and members of public who called on her at the hospital and the general public for their prayers. Since hospitalisation, the AIADMK general secretary had just once appealed to voters to support their party candidates in the three assembly constituencies through a party release.

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