Elections 98

State:	Tamil Nadu
Constituency:	Periyakulam
Total Votes Polled:	617136
Winner: ADMK	Murhiah R.	319672
Runner Up: DMK	Gandhimathy R.	249092
Margin: 70580 (22%)

Elections 96

State:	Tamilnadu
Constituency:	Periyakulam
Total Votes Polled:	686544
Winner: DMK	Ganagurusamy R	326665
Runner Up: ADMK	Ramasamy R	195328
Margin: 131337 (19.74%)

The AIADMK had won this seat thrice consecutively till 1991, its sitting MP R Ramasamy going into the 1996 election with confidence. The DMK's R Gnanagurusamy stopped him in his tracks, defeating him by 131,000 votes. The last time the Congress won from here, incidentally, was in 1962.