Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha, bypoll election results highlights
Whichever way the results go on May 23, the Lok Sabha elections would have charted a new political discourse in Tamil Nadu. For one, this is the first election after the deaths of J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi, arguably among Tamil Nadu’s tallest politicians.
For the ruling AIADMK, which won 37 of the 39 seats in the 2014 general election, this election is key to send a message of unity, strength and stability. After the death of its matriarch, fondly known as Amma, a tussle for power left the party in factions before Edapaddi K Palaniswamy and O Panneerselvam stitched up an alliance to stay in power. This is not only the first test for the alliance, but also a government battling incumbency.
On the other hand, after the death of DMK chief Karunanidhi, a scripted narrative unfolded as his son and political heir M K Stalin rose to take charge.
Also read | On the campaign trail in Tamil Nadu: A rising sun and setting stars
Tamil Nadu is not a state that can be cast aside this election. With 39 seats, it has the fourth highest number of Lok Sabha constituencies. While for decades local issues were central to its politics, the recent alliances between AIADMK and BJP, and DMK and Congress has pulled it into national politics.
For the BJP and Congress, which have so far failed to make inroads in the state, this comes as a significant opportunity. The changing situation in Tamil Nadu might give the national parties a bigger say in their respective alliances.
Unlike the past, this year’s election has seen many new entrants. The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), led by TTV Dhinakaran, an AIADMK rebel and Sasikala’s nephew, contested 38 of the 39 seats.
Dhinakaran was elected to the state legislative Assembly in 2017 after winning a bypoll to Jaya’s R K Puram seat. One can’t put it past Dhinakaran to play spoiler for AIADMK and DMK.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s outfit Makkal Needhi Maiyam (MNM), meanwhile, contested all the seats.
Tamil Nadu bypolls results
Along with the Lok Sabha elections, bypolls to 18 seats were held. Both the AIADMK and DMK contested all 18 seats. In Tamil Nadu’s 234-member Assembly, 22 seats are vacant. The AIADMK currently has 108 seats, and support for three Independents. The party needs to win at least eight seats to retain majority. The DMK-Congress-IUML alliance, on the other hand, has 97 MLAs in the House. This puts it within earshot of forming the government should it win enough in the bypolls.
Here’s where TTV Dhinakaran’s party gains significance. The 18 bypolls were necessitated after MLAs left the AIADMK to join the rebel leader. At least 15 of these leaders are re-contesting the bypolls on AMMK tickets. The 18 bypolls are spread across 15 constituencies, and this leads to the fear that the Lok Sabha elections may have an effect on these local elections.
Read | TTV Dhinakaran interview: ‘I will never align with communal BJP… But Congress is a secular force’
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha election results: Key constituencies, candidates
Thoothukudi in the south is set to witness a big fight between Rajya Sabha MP from DMK Kanimozhi and BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan. Kanimozhi, who is contesting her debut Lok Sabha election, is the daughter of Karunanidhi. Thoothukudi came into national limelight a year ago when police during protests over the Sterlite copper plant killed 13 people.
Another contest to look out for is in Kanyakumari, the only seat BJP won in the 2014 elections. Sitting MP and Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan is contesting against Congress’ Vasanthakumar H, a businessman-politician from the region.
In Sivaganga, Congress leader P Chidambaram’s son Karti is contesting against BJP’s national secretary H Raja. A traditional Congress seat, Karti had told The Indian Express, “In this election, there is no other question or agenda except the ouster of Modi.”
Chennai Central will see a faceoff between Congress’ Dayanidhi Maran and Sam Paul, a rookie standing for AIADMK’s ally PMK.
DMK leader Kanimozhi, daughter of the late party patriarch M Karunadhi won the Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency by defeating her BJP rival by more than three lakh votes. Kanimozhi trounced BJP leader and Tamil Nadu unit President Tamilisai Soundararajan by a margin of 3.47 lakh votes. (PTI)
monthly limit of free stories.
with an Express account.
The DMK continues to reign the Tamil Nadu polls as the Stalin-led party has won 6 seats in the Assembly bypolls so far and is leading on 7 others. AIADMK, on the other hand, has won 3 seats and is leading on six others. 22 bypolls seats went to poll along with the parliamentary constituencies.
Top Tamil actor Rajinikanth Thursday congratulated DMK chief M K Stalin whose party is on course for a massive victory in the Lok Sabha election.
"I extend my hearty congratulations to DMK president M K Stalin for the party's grand victory in the Parliamentary polls," he tweeted.
(PTI)
Unfazed by the electoral drubbing received at the hands of arch rival DMK in the Lok Sabha polls,the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu Thursday said the trends in the bypolls showed people had reposed faith in the party.
AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator K Palaniswami hailed the massive mandate earned by BJP at the Centre, saying the voters had recognised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule, marked by "patriotism and public service."
They also said the bypoll 'results', apparently the trends where the party was leading in nine of the 22 seats, showed "only the AIADMK is qualified to rule the state."
(PTI)
The DMK swept the three Lok Sabha seats in Chennai comfortably as the results to the Lok Sabha elections were announced Thursday. Here are the winners:
Chennai central - Dayanidhi Maran (DMK)
Chennai North - Dr Kalanidhi Veeraswamy (DMK)
Chennai South - Thamizhachi Thangapandian (DMK)
The DMK has won 3 Assembly seats and is ahead on 10 others in the Tamil Nadu bypoll results announced today. The AIADMK too has won 3 seats so far and is leading on 6 others.
Congress's Karti P chidambaram has won from Sivaganga constituecy defeating H Raja of BJP.
In erode, Ganeshamurthi A of DMK defeated AIADMK's Manimaran G by 210618 votes.
Raja A of DMK has won from Nilgiris constituency.
DMK's Annadurai CN in Tiruvannamalai defeated Agri Krishnamurthy SS from AIADMK
DMK's Thiruvarur bypoll candidate Poondi Kalaivanan has won the elections by a vote difference of 62,288. This constituency became vacant following the death of DMK patriarch Kalaignar Karunanidhi in 2018.
DMK chief M K Stalin addresses the press in Chennai. He says, "The official results are yet to come. But in the Lok Sabha and by-poll elections, we have won by a great margin. I thank the people of Tamil Nadu and DMK's cadre who worked hard to make this victory possible. I was worried, because this is the first election we are facing without our beloved leader Kalaignar. Before the results, I took a pledge that If we win in these elections, I will dedicate that victory to our leader and it has come true today."
Here are some trends coming in from Tamil Nadu: MDMK's Ganesa Moorthy is poised to win the Erode seat; DMK's A C Viswanathan is in the lead in Ambur; Congress's Vishnu Prasad appears victorious from Arani Lok Sabha seat.
AIADMK candidate G Sampath has won the Sholingur assembly constituency by a margin of 16,220 votes. ADMK candidate Thenmozhi, meanwhile, has won the Nilakottai seat by a margin of 16763 votes.
TTV Dhinakaran on Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Results: "We accept the people’s verdict. Success and failure is normal, We thank the people who voted for us. Like Amma taught us, we will bounce back like a phoenix bird and will continue to serve the people of Tamil Nadu."
With folded hands, we accept the resounding victory given to the DMK alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu. During the next five years, we will work hard to fulfill the promises made and protect the interest of our state!
Thol Thirumaavalavan has the lead over AIADMK’s P Chandrasekar again in Chidambaram constituency. He leads with a margin of 4,981 votes. From the Sivaganga seat, Karti Chidambaram is leading with 390,695 votes. H Raja is trailing with 161,662 votes.
Tamil Nadu Congress chief K S Alagiri says, "Modi has won, India has lost."
The AIADMK has won the Vilathikulam bypoll in Tamil Nadu. Candidate P Chinnappan has beaten DMK's A C Jayakumar by 70,139 votes, reports local news channels.
Tamilisai Soundararajan, Tamil Nadu BJP president and candidate from Thoothukudi, says, "The people of Tamil Nadu have committed a mistake by not electing the non-corrupt BJP to power. They have elected the same corrupt people again. We will do a soul experiment to find out why we were not able to attract TN ppl’s vote share."
DMK’s Senthil Balaji is leading in Aravakurichi constituency bypoll against AMMK’s Senthilnathan. Senthil Balaji was the MLA of Aravakurichi in 2016-2017 before he was disqualified by the Assembly speaker. He joined DMK in M K Stalin’s presence in 2018.
Out of 22 rounds, only four rounds of counting have been completed in Perambur. AIADMK's candidate RS Rajesh has complained about the mix-match of tag numbers in EVMs to Commissioner A K Viswanathan and Election Officer G Prakash. Rajesh has demanded the officials to stop the counting.
MDMK leader Vaiko says, "The people of Tamil Nadu have once again proved that this land is the fortress of Dravidian parties. They have made it clear that there is no place for communal forces in the state."
DMK leader A Raja has won the Nilgiris constituency with 203,465 votes. He contested against AIADMK’s M Thiyagarajan.
Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maim (MNM) is currently placed in third position in 12 Lok Sabha constituencies. The party, which was struggling initially, has upped the ante. In North Chennai, Central Chennai, South Chennai, Coimbatore, Pollachi, Tirupur Sriperumbudur, Erode, Salem, Madurai, Puducherry and Tiruvallur constituencies, they have made their mark. In Sriperumbudur, MNM's Sridhar secured close to a lakh vote. The party which just turned a year-old this February has pushed TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK and Seeman's NTK down.
The ruling dispensation in the state may be facing a massive defeat in the Lok Sabha results with DMK leading in 36 of the 39 seats (including one seat in Puducherry), but they seem to have saved face in bypolls to 22 Assembly seats with a comfortable lead in 11 seats. What does this mean for the AIADMK? Arun Janardhanan explains
PMK, an ally of the AIADMK-led alliance, has performed poorly. The party which got allocated seven seats in the coalition has failed to gain majority. The party's youth-wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss is trailing by 30,787 votes from Dharampuri. Captain Vijayakanth's DMDK made no difference either. The party is struggling to even get into the top three positions in several constituencies.
In Tamil Nadu, unlike the rest of the country, we are seeing a different story. None of the BJP candidates have managed to secure a lead in the Lok Sabha Election. Tamilisai Soundararajan (Thoothukudi), Nayinar Nagendhran (Ramanathapuram), H.Raja (Sivaganga) and Pon Radhakrishnan (Kanyakumari) CP Radhakrishnan (Coimbatore) are all trailing.
Congress candidate Thirunavukkarasar SU has won Tiruchirappalli constituency with a massive vote margin of 3,17,932. He contested the polls against DMDK’s Dr Elangovan.
In Theni, AIADMK’s O P Raveendran, son of deputy CM O Panneerselvam, is holding fort with a margin of 25,419 votes against Congress’ EVKS Elangovan.
Dayanidhi Maran, a prominent member of M Karunanidhi’s family, looks all set to win the Central Chennai constituency with 199,244 votes in his margin. His main competitor is PMK’s Sam Paul. In Dharmapuri, after a close battle in the morning, DMK’s Senthilkumar S has managed to gain a considerable lead against PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss with a margin of 30,787 votes.
M K Kanimozhi, the daughter of late DMK supremo M Karunanidhi, has comfortably taken the lead in Thootukudi by a margin of 198,290 votes. BJP state president Tamilisai Soundarajan, who is contesting against her, has failed to create an impact here.
Congress candidate Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram, is currently leading in Sivaganga by a margin of 137,211 votes. His main competition in this race is BJP leader H Raja. Meanwhile, in Chidambaram constituency, it’s a close race between AIADMK’s P Chandrasekar, who is currently leading by a margin of 5,517 votes, and VCK Chief Thol Thirumaavalavan.
The DMK is ahead again. At one point, it seemed AIADMK would surpass DMK in the bypoll race as both parties were on par with 11 seats each. Now, DMK leads in 14 constituencies while of the 22.
DMK’s A Raja is leading from the Nilgiris constituency by a margin of 1,99,046 votes. AIADMK’s Thiagarajan M is trailing.
With Congress Nanguneri MLA H Vasanthakumar leading from the Kanyakumari parliamentary seat, he is likely to resign his Assembly membership. This would result in another bypoll in Nanguneri soon.
DMK has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission alleging manipulation of votes in favour of AIADMK candidates. In a letter, the party has attributed this to the fact that "they (AIADMK) are struggling to get the numbers to sustain their Government".
Rajinikanth has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the NDA's performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating him for his "magnificent victory" in the Lok Sabha elections. "The people of our country have honoured you with a second consecutive term. I wish you and the Government of India under your stewardship the very best," he writes.
In Chidambaram constituency, VCK Chief Thol Thirumavalavan and AIADMK's Chandrasekar are battling it out. Chandrasekar is leading by a margin of 2,091 votes. In the 2014 general elections, Thirumavalavan lost by a margin of just 87 votes.
Jothimani, Congress's only women candidate in Tamil Nadu, is leading in Karur with 1,46,801 votes against AIADMK's Thambidurai. This is the second time she is contesting against Thambidurai; In 2014 she lost to him by a margin of 51.64 %. This is her third attempt to be elected to the Lok Sabha.
Here's an analysis from the Explained desk of The Indian Express on the Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha polls. Going by trends, the AIADMK government is likely to face a massive defeat in the Lok Sabha polls but save face in bypolls to 22 Assembly seats -- and remain in power. With BJP in the AIADMK alliance retaining power in Delhi and the stability of the state government too strengthened, there would be a lessened incentive for the three Dhinakaran MLAs to continue to support him. The same would logically apply to the three Independent AIADMK MLAs. Multiple leaders in both camps indicated that the stability of the government would help the AIADMK to gather more support.
DNV Senthilkumar S of the DMK has taken the lead in Dharmapuri by a margin of 268 votes against Anbumani Ramadoss of PMK. In Chidambaram constituency, VCK Chief Thol Thirumavalavan and AIADMK's Chandrasekar are locked in a battle. Chandrasekar is leading with a margin of just 2091 votes.
V Vaithilingam of the Congress is leading with a margin of 1,69, 785 (57.5%) votes against Dr Narayanasamy Kesavan of AINRC.
Here are some trends coming in from across the state: In Arani, Congress candidate Vishnu Prasad is leading with a margin of 46,105 votes against AIADMK's Elumalai. Dayanithi Maran is well ahead of PMK's Sam Paul from Chennai Central with a margin of 42,725 votes. Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy is leading in Chennai North with a margin of 49,586 votes against DMDK's Alagapuram Mohanraj. In South Chennai, Thamizhachi Thangapandian is in a comfortable position with 28,107 votes over AIADMK's Jayavardhan Jayakumar. In Arakkonam, Jagathratchagan is leading with a margin of 37,190 against PMK's A K Moorthy.
Kamal Haasan's MNM has received less votes than NOTA polled in the Tamil Nadu bypolls in constituencies like Pappireddipatti, Thiruvarur and Vilathikulam. The party does not seem to be faring well in the Lok Sabha elections either.
It's neck and neck in Tamil Nadu bye-elections. DMK is leading in 12 constituencies while ADMK is leading in 10. DMK spokesperson D K Saravanan told NDTV the party is hoping to win 15 seats in the bypolls.
DMK leaders in a celebratory mood as the party's alliance leads in 35/39 seats in Tamil Nadu. Here are some pictures.
Buoyed by the Lok Sabha election results, the BSE Sensex has breached 40,000 while the Nifty has crossed the 12,000 mark for the first time.
Tamizhachi Thangapandian, the daughter of late DMK Minister Thangapandian) of DMK is leading in Chennai South constituency, where she is contesting the polls against AIADMK's Dr Jayavardhan.
DMK's Dayanidhi Maran is leading in Chennai Central constituency. He is pitted against Sam Paul, a PMK leader in the AIADMK alliance. Karti P Chidambaram, the son of Congress leader P Chidambaram is leading Sivaganga, where the BJP has fielded H Raja.
Results to 22 bypolls are being announced today. As per the initial trends, DMK is leading 12 constituencies — Thiruvarur, Thanjavur, Ambur, Thiruporur, Ottapidaram, Mayiladudurai, etc. The ruling AIADMK leading in ten constituencies, including Saathur, Andipatti, Sulur, Manamadhurai, Sholinghur.
Senthil Balaji who jumped ship from AMMK to DMK, is leading in Aravakurichi constituency with 5102 votes. He is pitted against Senthil Nathan of AMMK. He was initially part of AIADMK and was an elected MLA. He was one amongst the 18 MLAs who got disqualified by AIADMK speaker P Dhanapal for acting against party principles.
EVKS of Congress is leading in Theni, while Jothimani is leading in Karur against AIADMK's Lok Sabha deputy speaker Thambidurai. CPM's P R Natarajan is ahead in Coimbatore against BJP. CPI has a slight lead in Tirupur.
After struggling for a brief time, VCK leader and prominent Dalit leader from South, Thol Thirumavalavan in DMK alliance, has a slight lead in Chidambaram constituency. DMK's Kanimozhi is leading in Thoothukudi. where she is contesting against BJP state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, meanwhile, contesting for the AIADMK-BJP alliance, is leading in Dharampuri. For real-time updates on Twitter, you can follow Express reporter Arun Janardhanan @arunjei.
Here are some trends from across the state: DMK's Ganeshamurthi A leads in Erode over AIADMK's Manimaran G; A Raja of the DMK is ahead of AIADMK's Thiyagarajan M in Nilgiris; DMK's Dhanush M Kumar is up in Tenkasi where he is contesting against DMK's Dr.Krishnasamy K.
Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam, TTV Dinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam haven’t opened their account still. These parties were seen as an alternative to the Dravidian parties.
According to initial trends, the DMK-led alliance is racing ahead, leading in 23 seats. The AIADMK leads in two. On the bypoll front, the DMK is up in four while the AIADMK leads in three.
Khushboo Sundar, actress and spokesperson of the Congress, tweeted last night that she would be MIA on election results day as she has been hospitalised. "Will miss the drama unfold tmrw.. my bad.. when you plan something , nature disposes.. very upset.." she said.
According to initial trends, DMK leader Kanimozhi is leading in Thoothukudi in her Lok Sabha debut election. She is contesting against BJP state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan. Meanwhile, counting seems to be delayed in South Chennai, where DMK’s Thamizhachi Thangapandian — the daughter of late DMK Minister Thangapandian — is up against ADMK’s Jayavardhan Jayakumar, the son of Fisheries Minister Jayakumar.