Dhinakaran, an independent candidate and nephew of the now-jailed politician V.K. Sasikala, won by a huge margin of over 40,000 votes in the byelection held for the former chief minister, the late J. Jayalalithaa’s Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (R.K. Nagar) constituency on Sunday.
Dhinakaran got a total of 89,013 votes or more than 50% of votes polled in the high-profile seat. While E. Madhusudhanan of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) got 48,306 votes, N. Marudhu Ganesh of the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) lost his deposit, having polled just 24,651 votes. A total of 59 candidates were in the fray.
“The people of R.K. Nagar have reflected the mindset of the entire people of Tamil Nadu. Voters have decided to put an end to this anti-people government. This government will fall in the next three months,” said Dhinakaran.
He added that the victory was a blessing for the AIADMK cadre on MGR’s death anniversary.
“R.K. Nagar was represented by Amma (Jayalalithaa). The thumping majority which the voters have given is an indication of who will lead the party,” said Dhinakaran
Senior leaders in the AIADMK were cautious in giving statements, with none wanting to appease or offend Dhinakaran. “We had sought votes for ‘two leaves’ but did not ask people not to vote for the ‘cooker’ symbol,” said cooperatives minister Sellur K Raju. He said all factions must reunite for a strong AIADMK.
“RK Nagar is a fortress of the AIADMK. DMK cannot win there,” said Lok Sabha deputy speaker M Thambidurai, subtly hinting that Dhinakaran was not an outsider. Stung by the defeat, the camps got into a huddle separately. The rattled EPS-OPS camp broke its silence and issued a statement claiming that the result did not reflect the sentiment of the people.
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