As the results for the Assembly elections in the Union Territory were announced on Friday, it became clear that the All-India N.R. Congress (AINRC) was heading for a huge victory.
Mr Rangasamy, who was ousted from the Congress and lay low for sometime, floated the AINRC and routed the Congress in the party’s very first election by romping home in 15 out of the 17 seats it contested. Its ally AIADMK emerged victorious in five seats. Mr Rangasamy won the two seats he contested from Kathirgamam and Indira Nagar.
Speaking to mediapersons after the victory, Mr Rangasamy said this was a verdict given by the people and “I welcome it”. All the formalities that ought to be observed in the wake of the poll verdict would be decided, he added.
The Congress and its allies have together won only nine of the 30 seats they contested. The Congress was able to secure only seven seats with chief minister V. Vaithilingam, home minister E. Valsaraj and revenue minister Malladi Krishna Rao posting victories.
The PMK, an ally of the ruling Congress, drew a blank by getting defeated in the two constituencies it contested. AIADMK candidate P. Purushothaman defeated PMK state convenor R.K.R. Anantharaman by a margin of 4,716 votes. The Left parties, part of the AINRC combine, have also been defeated.
A strong anti-incumbency factor was apparently responsible for the poll results with Speaker R. Radhakrishnan, PWD minister M.O.H.F. Shahjahan and welfare minister M. Kandaswamy suffering defeats.
The highlight is that these three have been defeated by AINRC candidates.
Mr P. Rajavelu of the AINRC defeated his nearest rival, Mr. Kandaswamy of the Congress, by a margin of 1,468 votes in Embalam. Another Congress heavyweight, Mr Shahjahan lost the polls to Mr Kalyanasundaram of the AINRC by a margin of 6,366 votes in Kalapet constituency.