The plot of 35-year-old R Kadalmani's victory for the post of Sirumaruthur village panchayat president in Tiruchy district after counting of votes began on Tuesday morning for the recently concluded local body poll has some similarities to the satirical Tamil movie starring Yogi Babu, Mandela.
The film is set on the backdrop of a village panchayat election scenario between two political parties where a local barber's vote will determine the fate of the election.
Sources said that Kadalmani secured 424 votes in the election held on October 9, to defeat his rival R Kanniammal by a lone vote.
The death of Kanniammal's husband and former president Ramesh Kumar a few months ago had left the seat vacant. Kanniammal's dream to wrest her husband's seat was dashed by that one person who voted against her.
"I didn't expect this victory to be this close and I am delighted. I lost the election for the same post in the 2019 rural local body election. Almost 1.5 years later, I have secured a victory with a margin of 1 vote. I thank all the friends and relatives who helped me secure this victory, " Kadalamani told TNIE.
The Sirumaruthur panchayat has a total of 1150 voters. Out of it, 538 are male and 613, female. The election witnessed a turnout of 86 percent, with a total of 989 out of 1150 turning up on the polling day and exercising their franchise.