Bypoll: AINRC retains Thattanchavady, reaffirms CM Rangasamy's sway over constituency

PUDUCHERRY: Establishing its dominance, the ruling AINRC on Friday retained the Thattanchavady Assembly segment, considered party founder and Chief Minister N Ranagsamy's pocket borough and vacated by him post April 9 elections in the Union Territory.

In the process, the AINRC, which leads the NDA coalition government. passed its first test of popularity in flying colours, with party candidate Ashok Anand defeating his nearest Congress rival E Vinayagam by over 8,400 votes.

Bypoll to Thattanchavady was necessitated after Rangasamy resigned from here following his win from Mangalam also. The byelection was held on Monday.

Right from the start of the counting at 8 am, AINRC was ahead of Congress and DMK.

Ashok Anand, who secured 13,358 votes, won by a margin of 8,482 votes after a total of four rounds of counting. Vinayagam secured 4,876 votes, and DMK's K Sethu alias Sethuselvam polled 2,664 votes, according to an EC update.

Counting of votes was taken up at Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic College at Lawspet.

Ashok Anand is a former legislator and a close confidante of the chief minister.

The poll outcome re-establishes Rangasamy's hold over the constituency as he has not lost a single election from here since 1991.