In a thrilling finish, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate Seenivasa Sethupathy pulled off a stunning win from Tiruppattur Assembly seat, defeating DMK’s KR Periyakaruppan by a single vote.
Sethupathi’s victory marks the end of Periyakarupappan’s 20-year dominance of the constituency.
Reflecting on the dramatic turn of events, Sethupathi expressed deep gratitude and attributed his success to TVK chairman and actor Vijay.
“My entire success is due to Vijay. He shows how important every vote is,” Sethupathi told ANI.
At the end of the penultimate round of vote counting on Monday, Periyakaruppan was ahead by 30 votes. However, the final round saw a stunning turnaround, with election officials declaring his closest rival, TVK’s Senivasa Sethupathi, the winner.
Sethupathi polled 83,365 votes, beating Periyakaruppan, who got 83,364 votes, marking one of the most shocking upsets in Indian electoral history.
Polling for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election was held on April 23. In a historic first in the state of Tamil Nadu, a voter turnout of 85.12 per cent was recorded.
The vote counting process began on May 4. Since the beginning of the counting process, TVK candidates have begun to advance in a large number of electoral districts.
Notably, they have gained strong lead in districts like Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Madurai. Meanwhile, candidates from the DMK and AIADMK alliances also fielded in various constituencies across the state.
Within three to four hours of counting, trends were seen in all 234 constituencies. However, no party crossed the magic majority figure of 118 seats required to form a government. However, TVK crossed the 100-seat mark in the lead and emerged as the largest single party.
When the counting process ended and the results were announced, the TVK party, which competed independently in all 234 electoral districts, won 108 seats. The DMK alliance won 73 seats, while the AIADMK alliance won 53 seats. The KDP itself, including its candidates and allies who competed under the symbol of the rising sun, won about 62 seats, making it the second largest party.
TVK president Vijay contested in two constituencies and won both. He is expected to resign in Trichy and continue as MLA from Chennai Perambur Assembly constituency.
For TVK to form the government, it will require the support of at least 10 more MLAs. With no independent MLAs in the state, TVK can form the government only if parties from the DMK or AIADMK alliance extend their support.
