Rangasamy-led NDA retains power in Puducherry
CHENNAI: Apolitical tsunami christened Vijay has dethroned the MK Stalin government in Tamil Nadu, leaving the ruling DMK unable to break the second consecutive term jinx, while in neighbouring Puducherry, the squabble over seat sharing in the Congress-DMK alliance till the eleventh hour has enabled incumbent Chief Minister and AINRC president, N Rangasamy, to retain power.
Despite heading a 25-party Maha Gathbandan, the DMK has been made to bite the dust and the principal Opposition AIADMK, heading the NDA, pushed to the third place, indicating its downward slide under Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS). The anti-BJP narrative, which failed to cut much ice with the electorate since it lacked credibility, and the welfare measures including direct cash benefit to more than one crore women could not carry the DMK ashore.
If the DMK’s loss was stunning, Stalin’s defeat at the hands of a turncoat from the party’s ranks, VS Babu, proved to be rubbing salt on its wounds. A tiny constituency in Chennai, Kolathur, had returned him thrice to the assembly and the margin of loss is 8,795 votes. If this is not enough, the DMK has been nearly routed in Chennai, claimed to be its traditional hunting ground. Of the 16 seats in Chennai, it lost 14 with only Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and Endowments Minister PK Sekarbabu, scraping through.
Prominent losers include DMK general secretary and senior-most minister K Duraimurugan (Katpadi), the face of modernity for the DMK, PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan (Madurai Central), a host of DMK ministers, and Speaker M Appavu (Radhapuram). The party’s loss is attributed to its over reliance on freebies and cash doles, alienation of Dalits amid rising atrocities, law and order issues, and the TVK capitalizing on anti-incumbency.
While Vijay won from both Perambur in Chennai and Trichy East, his lieutenants ‘Bussy’ N Anand (Theyagaraya Nagar), Aadhav Arjuna (Villivakkam). Surprisingly, the TVK has eaten into the vote share of both the AIADMK and the DMK. The vote share of the DMK drastically come down from 38 percent in 2021 to 24.20 percent this time, while that of the AIADMK from 33.5 percent to 21.36 per cent. Interestingly, the BJP with 3 percent vote share had not added much to the AIADMK’s tally and the same is the case with the DMK’s allies. For new comer, the TVK securing 34.86 percent vote share is unusual. With Vijay becoming the symbol of change, TVK candidates who had not even carried a campaign have won with a handsome margin. It is a different matter that Vijay himself had not campaigned much.
While the results place the DMK as the principal opposition, the Congress, which fought the election with the DMK, is actively considering to support the TVK in forming the government. The TVK which emerged as the single largest party, leading in 109 seats requires 9 more to cross the half-way mark of 118 in a house of 234. The Congress, which contested 28 seats, is leading only in 5 constituencies.
All the star candidates of the BJP including state president Nainar Nagenthran, former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Mahila Morcha national president Vananthi Srinivasan have lost. The party which contested in 28 seats in alliance with the AIADMK has won only one from Udhagamandalam (Ooty).
In the former French enclave, Puducherry Union Territory, Rangasamy trounced his nearest Congress rival V Vaithilingam, MP, touted as the Chief Ministerial face of the grand old party. The AINRC had bagged 12 seats while its allies BJP (4) and LJK (1), securing majority in a house of 30. While DMK had secured 5 seats the Congress could muster only one with independents winning 5 seats.
Agencies