TIRUCHY: Did Edappadi K Palaniswami’s ‘farmer CM’ pitch work? If results coming from Delta and central districts are anything to go by, the answer is No. DMK seems to have bagged most seats in this region. AIADMK has been left with just one seat each in Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur. Only two ministers from the region have managed to win this time OS Manian from Vedaranyam and R Kamaraj from Nannilam.
In Thanjavur, the AIADMK could win only Orathanadu of the eight seats. The DMK alliance stamped its authority over Tiruchy by winning all the nine seats, including Srirangam considered an AIADMK stronghold. DMK’s principal secretary, KN Nehru, who contested from Tiruchy West, is leading with over 85,000 vote-margin.
Similarly, DMK’s Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, a close friend of youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, has won from Tiruverumbur, defeating AIADMK’s P Kumar. Tourism Minister Vellamandi N Natarajan faced a drubbing in Tiruchy East with Inigo Irudhayaraj, founder of Chirsthuva Nallenna Iyakkam and new candidate, contesting on DMK symbol, defeating him by 52,000 votes.
Veteran politician and former minister Ku Pa Krishnan of AIADMK lost to DMK’s Palaniyandi in Srirangam. Similarly, voters in the central districts of Ariyalur, Perambalur and Karur have gone en masse behind the DMK as the party’s candidates moved comfortably ahead of the AIADMK candidates. These districts have eight Assembly constituencies among them.
In Kunnam constituency, DMK’s SS Sivasankar is poised to defeat incumbent AIADMK MLA RT Ramachandran. In Jayankondam, PMK’s K Balu is staring at a defeat with DMK’s Ka So Ka Kannan leading in the constituency. The defeat of AIADMK-PMK alliance here has come as a surprise to many. BJP’s Annamalai was trailing from the beginning in Aravakkurichi.
Counting was stopped frequently at Viralimalai constituency, where outgoing minister C Vijayabaskar is facing DMK’s Palaniyappan as the counting agents locked horns over allegations of mishandling of counting units. By and large, the delta and central districts have contributed significantly to the formation of a strong DMK government.
Minister vs Ex-minister
In Karur constituency, where MR Vijayabaskar of the AIADMK and Senthil Balaji of the DMK were pitted against each other, the latter was leading after an initial see-saw battle