Through Express press service

CHENNAI: The bad show from the allies has let AIADMK down as the party heads to the opposition benches in the Legislature. The AIADMK can take comfort in the fact that it has countered the anti-outgoing sentiment reasonably well in the absence of the supremo J Jayalalithaa. Under his leadership, the party won four seats in 1996.

The Time This time, AIADMK won 70 seats, largely thanks to its strong performance in western Tamil Nadu which is considered its stronghold. Outgoing Cabinet ministers KP Anbalagan, KC Karuppannan, KA Sengottaiyan and SP Velumani enjoyed a good lead early on in the constituencies of Palacode, Bhavani, Gobichettipalayam and Thondamuthur respectively.

However, MC Sampath, K Pandiarajan, KC Veeramani and OS Manian were neck and neck with their rivals. The tide did not favor Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar who won from Royapuram for the past 20 years. He came second behind DMK’s Idream Murthy R, with a margin of around 17,000 votes.

The victory of KP Munusamy and R Vaithilingam, both members of Rajya Sabha, Veppanapalli and Orathanadu will soon require upper house elections. Allies BJP and PMK together led in just eight of the 43 seats they contested.

BJP led with four of 20 seats at press time, while PMK led four of 23, which is the highest number of seats awarded to a party in the alliance. Among the leading Saffron Party candidates who followed were H Raja in Karaikudi, Khushbu Sundar in Thousand Lights and K Annamalai in Aravakurichi. However, PMK chairman GK Mani led Pennagaram with 44,000 votes.