DHARMAPURI: It was deja vu for supporters as PMK’s Sowmiya Anbumani and DMK’s A Mani went neck and neck for the better part of the counting process. Mani emerged victorious by a margin of 21,300 votes defeating Sowmiya Anbumani of the PMK as the counting process at the Government Engineering College at Chettikarai witnessed nail-biting sessions. The contest was a repeat of 2019 when Anbumani Ramadoss and DNV S Senthilkumar contested.
The start of counting was delayed by 30 minutes due to technical issues. The process consisted of 23 rounds and the entire proceedings were monitored by 398 cameras . A total of 650 police personnel were deployed on the college premises.
Sowmiya maintained a significant lead for the first 10 rounds. In the 10th round, she had a lead of 4,365 votes. The tide turned in Mani’s favour in the 11th round as he secured lead of 2,142 votes. After the 23rd and final round of counting, Mani was declared winner with a margin of 21,300 votes securing 4,32,667. Sowmiya got 4,11,367 votes.
AIADMK’s R Ashokan secured 2,91,590 votes and was placed in the third place followed by NTK candidate Abhinaya who secured 64,576 votes. Collector K Santhi distributed the declaration to the candidate.
Addressing media persons, Sowmiya urged the DMK government to ensure that the promises made in its manifesto 2024 are fulfilled. Congratulating Mani, she said, ‘I am extremely grateful for all the people’s support in the election and thankful for the work of the party cadre.”
In 2019, Anbumani had a lead initially, but Senthilkumar eventually won secured 5,74,988 votes and defeated Anbumani by 70,753 votes.