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G Balachandar
Though final numbers were awaited, it was evident that MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) would form the next government in Tamil Nadu after being in the opposition for a decade.
While victory in 118 of the total 234 constituencies will ensure absolute majority, the DMK was by itself leading in 124 seats, while all its alliance parties together were leading in more than 20 seats, according to the data (8.30 p.m) from Election Commission of India.
While the late M Karunanidhi’s son Stalin led the DMK alliance comprising parties such as the Congress, the CPI, the CPI(M), the VCK, and a few other small outfits, the hat-trick hopeful AIADMK, led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, had a line-up that included the BJP and the PMK.
This time, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam was also in the fray after forming teamimg up with some small parties besides the Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi party.
As Tamil Nadu went to the Assembly poll on April 6, it was a closely watched battle between the two Dravidian parties that contested without their stalwarts — M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa — for the first time.
The DMK had roped in the services of political strategist Prashant Kishore’s I-PAC involving a whopping sum amounting to a couple hundred crores for the Assembly poll. The AIADMK had also engaged a political strategist, Sunil Kanugolu.
Supported by I-PAC, the DMK chief undertook aggressive election campaigns and did an extensive tour across the State in a bid to secure a major victory. While initially it was expected that the DMK would sweep the elections, the AIADMK and its allies also came up with big counter-campaigns to give their best. Just before the polling date, many predicted a neck-and-neck fight between the fronts.
Various exit polls had predicted a landslide for the DMK alliance with a maximum of 200 seats. It was also stated that TTV Dhinakaran may split the votes of AIADMK. Despite carrying the burden of a 10-year anti-incumbency, the AIADMK front managed to fight strongly to bring down the DMK’s tally.
Meanwhile, the BJP also got the much-needed breakthrough with 3 victories and leads in a couple of seats.
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