VIRUDHUNAGAR: After a tough fight with DMDK candidate V Vijaya Prabhakaran, a newcomer to the field of electoral politics, two-time MP B Manickam Tagore is all set to clinch victory in the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency for a third time on Tuesday. After round 24 of vote counting, Tagore and Prabhakaran secured a total of 3,85,256 and 3,80,877 votes respectively, with the former securing a margin of 4,379 votes.
The vote counting in Virudhunagar constituency, which includes the six assembly segments of Thiruparankundram, Tirumangalam, Virudhunagar, Sattur, Sivakasi and Aruppukottai, began at 8 am on Tuesday at VSVN Polytechnic College. The constituency had witnessed a voter turnout of 70.32% and the counting was held in 19-24 rounds.
Until the seventh round of counting, Vijaya Prabhakaran maintained a steady lead, and party functionaries of the AIADMK and DMDK even began celebrating by bursting crackers and pasting victory posters. However, Tagore started overpowering Prabhakaran by the eighth round, with a mere difference of 348 votes.
It may be noted that Virudhunagar was the only constituency that managed to pin hopes high for the AIADMK for a relatively long time since the commencement of vote countin. Meanwhile, BJP’s Raadika Sarathkumar failed to establish a place for herself in the political spectrum. While she managed to secure 1,66,271 votes, NTK candidate S Kaushik garnered 77,031 votes.