Jayalalithaa returns to Tamil Nadu assembly with massive victory

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. (HT File Photo)

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AIADMK general secretary and chief minister J Jayalalithaa returned to the Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday by a record victory margin from the Radkhakrishnan Nagar constituency.

Jayalalithaa polled 160,432 votes while her nearest rival, Communist Party of India's (CPI) C Mahendran, got just 9,710 votes - a victory margin of 150,722 votes.
The total electorate in the constituency was around 245,000, and the chief minister bagged more than 50% of that.
As noisy celebrations erupted at the AIADMK headquarters and outside Jayalalithaa's residence, Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah congratulated her over her landslide win, an official statement said.
AIADMK activists and leaders generously distributed sweets to all and sundry and burst crackers to celebrate the thumping victory - a record of sorts for Jayalalithaa.
<span itemprop="name" content="Watch: Supporters celebrate as Jayalalithaa wins big in RK Nagar bypoll"></span> <span itemprop="description" content="Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa won in RK Nagar (Chennai) assembly constituency with over one 1.5 lakh votes. Bypoll for the seat was held on June 27. After three rounds of counting that began at 8am, Jayalalithaa surged ahead with 30,033 votes as compared to 2,287 of CPI's C Mahendran. AIADMK cadres and supporters went into a celebratory mode after Jayalalithaa's win. Some workers were seen distributing sweets and dancing near her Poes garden residence in Chennai. Tamil Nadu governor K Rosiah congratulated Jayalalithaa on her victory."></span> <span itemprop="duration" content="39"></span> <span itemprop="thumbnail" content="http://cfvod.kaltura.com/p/1679921/sp/167992100/thumbnail/entry_id/0_3wucjq1c/version/100012/acv/142"></span> <span itemprop="width" content="640"></span> <span itemprop="height" content="368"></span>
An elated Jayalalithaa thanked voters and AIADMK supporters for her massive victory and said the result was a forerunner for the 2016 assembly elections.
This is the seventh bypoll victory for AIADMK since it came to power in 2011. The party has won all the bypolls held since 2011.
As counting of votes began at 8am in Chennai on Tuesday, Jayalalithaa began to build a massive lead over her rivals.
In 2006, AIADMK's PK Sekarbabu polled 84,462 votes in Radhakrishnan Nagar. In 2011, P Vetrivel of AIADMK got 83,777 votes and defeated Sekarbabu, who by then was in the DMK. Vetrivel's victory margin was over 31,000 votes.
This time the polling percentage was higher at around 74%, up from 72.72% in 2011.
While there were 28 candidates in the fray, only CPI's Mahendran was viewed as a serious opponent for Jayalalithaa.
Major opposition parties like the DMK, the PMK, the DMDK, the Congress, the BJP and the MDMK stayed away from the contest.
The two Left parties - CPI and CPI-M - fielded Mahendran as their joint candidate.
However, going by the votes polled by Jayalalithaa, it is clear the vote banks of the opposition parties fell into Jayalalithaa's kitty and did not go to the CPI candidate.
The Radhakrishnan Nagar seat fell vacant after AIADMK's Vetrivel resigned from the house to facilitate Jayalalithaa's re-election to the assembly.
Jayalalithaa, elected from Srirangam in 2011, lost that seat and the chief minister's post after a trial court in Bengaluru convicted her in the disproportionate assets case.
The Karnataka High Court upheld her appeal and acquitted her of all charges. Jayalalithaa was again sworn in as chief minister, but she has to get elected to the assembly within six months.
The Karnataka government has gone on appeal against the high court order in the Supreme Court.
In Kerala, Congress candidate KA Sabarinathan won the Aruvikara assembly seat by over 10,000 votes dedicated the win to his late father.
"For 24 years my father represented this constituency and the electorate gave this win for the work he did," Sabarinathan said.
"This victory is also for the agenda of chief minister Oommen Chandy whose 'development and care' work has been accepted," he added.
His mother MT Sulekha said it was too early to say if her son would perform better than her husband, assembly speaker G Karthikeyan who died in March, necessitating the election.
CPI-M politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan said the victory of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the state happened because they broke all election rules.
"They misused their office to win this election. This loss will help us to regroup and come together and work even harder for the upcoming local body election later this year," said Vijayan.
CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan too dismissed the party's loss.
"A loss in one election means nothing because it will help us to work much harder for the forthcoming polls," said Balakrishnan.
According to the official website of the chief electoral officer, Sabarinathan secured 56,448 votes and the official declaration is expected shortly.
The constituency essentially witnessed a triangular contest between the CPI-M, the Congress and the BJP.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist nominated 67-year-old former speaker and minister M Vijayakumar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party put up its regular warhorse O Rajagopal, 85.
Vijayakumar secured 46,320 votes and Rajagopal got 34,145 votes.
There were a total of 16 candidates in the fray and 184,210 voters -- up from 164,884 in 2011 when Karthikeyan won by over 10,000 votes. The turnout was at 70%.
Sabarinathan handed out a defeat to Vijayakumar who in his debut election in 1987 defeated sitting legislator Karthikeyan at the Thiruvananthapuram north constituency.