CHENNAI: The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu today inflicted a crushing defeat on DMK when its candidate retained the Sankarankoil (SC) Assembly bypoll winning by a record margin of 68,757 votes against the rival party's Jawahar Suryakumar who lost his deposit.
S Muthuselvi polled 94,977 votes while Suryakumar secured 26,220 votes in a multi-cornered contest where DMDK, MDMK and BJP also tested their fortunes.
Vaiko-led MDMK's nominee and former legislator Sadan Thirumalai Kumar polled 20678 votes while DMDK's V Muthukumar secured just 12,144 votes.
Barring Muthuselvi, all other candidates lost their deposits.
AIADMK's stupendous show was marked by an increase in the victory margin as late Minister C Karuppasamy, whose death necessitated the bypoll, had won the constituency in the 2011 assembly elections by a margin of a little over 10,000 votes.
Jayalalithaa herself had made a whirlwind tour of the constituency to garner support for Muthuselvi, Chairperson of Sankarankoil Municipality.
Investing much prestige into the contest, Jayalalithaa had deputed her entire cabinet to camp in the constituency to ensure the party nominee's victory.
Besides DMK chief M Karunanidhi, his two sons M K Alagiri and M K Stalin and senior party leaders campaigned extensively in the bye-election which was held against the backdrop of acute power shortage and hike in bus fares and milk prices.
This is the second win for Jayalalithaa who came to power after a resounding victory in the assembly elections held in April last. Her party won the Tiruchirappalli (West) bypoll in October last year.
Jaya describes win as endorsement of her government's 'good rule'
AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today described as an endorsement of her government's 'good rule,' the Sankarankoil (SC) assembly constituency bypoll win while DMDK founder and Opposition leader Vijayakant alleged that money power was behind it.
In her message thanking voters of the constituency, she said her party candidate S Muthuselvi's win by over 68,000 votes against DMK resulted in the party besides MDMK and DMDK losing their deposits.
"I thank the people who have endorsed (AIADMK's) good rule and assure that their faith reposed in me won't go waste. All facilities will be given to the people of Sankarankoil," Jayalalithaa, who had banked on her government's populist policies to see the party through, said in a statement.
She also thanked and greeted the party workers who worked for its win.
Vijayakant, who was involved in a spat with Jayalalithaa in the state assembly recently, charged the ruling party with using moneypower to secure a win.
"The AIADMK may boast of having won the election today but they had not won a single bye-election during the DMK regime.
So we are not taking this result seriously as it does not reflect people's mind," he said.
Bypolls have become like a formality in the state but DMDK will continue to work for solving people's problems, he added.