AIADMK sweet revenge, helps allies win
The impressive victory of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-BJP combine is unique in more than one sense.
The AIADMK has wiped out the bitter memories of the 1996 election by winning 18 seats to occupy the top slot.
Its allies -- the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Pattali Makkal Katchi,
the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress, and the Janata Party are sending
their representatives to the Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu for the
first time.
The BJP has established firm roots in the state, with the party
winning as many as three seats -- the Nilgiris, Tiruchirapalli and
Coimbatore.
Similarly, the PMK will be sending four members to the lower
house. The MDMK, led by Vaiko, a vociferous leader of the DMK who later broke away to form the new outfit, secured three seats with Vaiko himself winning for the first time in a Lok Sabha poll in
Sivakasi with a thumping margin.
Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy, the volatile former state Congress
chief, who floated the TRC, and the irrepressible Janata Party
President Dr Subramanian Swamy, also came out with flying colours.
The much talked about 'Rajnikant factor' appeared non-existent as the actor's support to the ruling DMK-led front couldn't be of much help as could be seen by the poor performance of the front with three Union minister belonging to the TMC and one belonging to the DMK, losing the battle.
The Sonia factor failed to come to the rescue of the Congress,
despite her two campaign visits, with the party drawing a blank.
Meanwhile, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha today thanked the people of Tamil Nadu for the spectacular victory of her party and the Progressive Democratic Front in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections in the state.
She said the success of the Front, which had bagged 30 of the 39 seats, disproving poll surveys by a section
of the press, showed that though the AIADMK was not in the
seat of power, it was still in the hearts of the people of Tamil
Nadu.
Jayalalitha said the ruling DMK and TMC, despite
misusing official machinery and resorting to malpractices could
manage to win only 10 seats.
She said the election results showed that the so-called poll
predictions were made by people who were against the AIADMK. Such poll surveys were undertaken at the instigation of DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, she alleged.
Jayalalitha assured the people that the representatives of
the AIADMK-led front, who were chosen by them would
whole-heartedly work for the development of their respective constituencies.
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