He defeated his nearest rival E Madhusudhanan of the AIADMK by a margin of over 40,000 votes, to win in former TN CM Jayalalithaa's constituency
In a jolt to the ruling AIADMK, sidelined leader T T V Dhinakaran yesterday won the prestigious RK Nagar Assembly bypoll by a thumping margin of over 40,000 votes. Dhinakaran, nephew of jailed leader V K Sasikala, defeated his nearest rival E Madhusudhanan of the AIADMK by 40,707 votes, officials announced as the counting of votes ended. Polling for the seat was held on December 21.
Sidelined AIADMK leader T T V Dhinakaran pays tribute at the memorial of MG Ramachandran after winning the RK Nagar constituency bypoll
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The bypoll in the Assembly constituency was necessitated following the death of J Jayalalithaa in December last. The late Tamil Nadu chief minister was elected from the RK Nagar seat in north Chennai. Dhinakaran bettered the record of Jayalalithaa, who had won by a margin of 39,545 votes in the 2016 Assembly polls.
His supporters celebrate after he established a decisive lead. Pics/PTI
While Dhinakaran polled 89,013 votes, Madhusudhanan got 48,306 votes. DMK's N Maruthu Ganesh came a distant third with 24,651, in the process losing deposit, as also 57 others, including the BJP nominee. Dhinakaran contested as an independent on the pressure cooker symbol after the Election Commission allotted the 'two leaves' symbol to the factions led by K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.
BJP wins in Arunachal
The BJP yesterday wrested both the Pakke-Kessang and Likabali Assembly seats from the Congress in the by-elections to these constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh. With this, the 60-member state Assembly now has 49 MLAs from the saffron party, nine from the Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA), one Congress and one Independent legislator.
TMC wrests seat from Cong
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal wrested the Sabang Assembly seat from the Congress yesterday by defeating its nearest rival, the CPI(M), by a massive margin of over 64,000 votes.
BJP retains Sikandra
The BJP retained the Sikandra Assembly seat of bandit Phoolan Devi fame in a bypoll yesterday by a margin of over 11,000 votes. According to the Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer's office, BJP's Ajit Singh Pal secured 73,284 votes (44.86 per cent), while his nearest rival, Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party (SP), bagged 61,423 votes (37.60 per cent).
Jairam Thakur to be new HP CM
BJP leader Jairam Thakur, who sprinted past party stalwarts in the race to the chief minister's office in Himachal Pradesh yesterday, will be the first leader from the politically-significant region of Mandi to helm the hill state. The 52-year-old five-time MLA from Seraj in Mandi emerged as one of the frontrunners for the top post after the defeat of BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 Assembly poll.
89,013
No. of votes for Dhinakaran
48,306
No. of votes for rival Madhusudhanan
24,651
Number of votes for N Maruthu Ganesh
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