One of the standout stories of the TVK victory was that of 30-year-old R Sabarinathan, the son of Vijay's driver from Virugambakkam.
Key Points
- Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam crossed the 100 seat mark in first-ever Tamil Nadu assembly electoral contest.
- TVK secures highest vote share at nearly 35 per cent, significantly ahead of DMK and AIADMK.
- Chennai, traditionally a DMK bastion, witnesses sweeping gains by TVK, winning 14 out of 16 assembly constituencies.
Putting an end to five decades of bipolar Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu, actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, making its assembly debut, is on track to become the single-largest party with over 100 seats.
The state also witnessed major upsets, with Chief Minister M K Stalin himself losing the Kolathur assembly constituency to TVK's V S Babu, once a close lieutenant of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president.
The TVK won 108 seats. In the 234-member assembly, 118 seats are required for a majority.
The incumbent DMK won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won 47.
While the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance won 64 seats, the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance managed 47.
Stalin is the fourth sitting CM in Tamil Nadu to lose an assembly election, the last being then AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa from the Bargur constituency in 1996.
The TVK secured about 34.91 per cent of the votes while the DMK got 24 per cent and the AIADMK around 21 per cent.
Though Stalin lost, his son and outgoing Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin retained the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency, defeating the TVK's D Selvam.
Vijay himself has won from the Perambur constituency by a margin of 53,715 votes, and by 27,416 votes in Tiruchirappalli (East).
One of the standout stories of the TVK victory was that of 30-year-old R Sabarinathan, the son of Vijay's driver from Virugambakkam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi congratulated TVK on its victory.
'I bow my head and accept the verdict of the people of Tamil Nadu. Congratulations to the new government,' Udhayanidhi said on Monday.
In a major blow to the DMK, the TVK swept 14 of the 16 assembly constituencies in Chennai, a stronghold of the Dravidian party.
Another upset was the defeat of Tamil Nadu Industries Minister T R B Rajaa, who lost to Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam candidate Kamaraj S in the Mannargudi constituency by 1,566 votes.
Former finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan also lost to the TVK's Madhar Badhurudeen S, who secured a vote share of 43 per cent.
Other DMK leaders who lost include Health Minister Ma. Subramanian in Saidapet, Speaker M Appavu from Radhapuram, Social Welfare Minister P Geetha Jeevan in Thoothukudi and Excise Minister S Muthusamy in Erode (West).
V S Babu's Political Journey
V S Babu, who defeated Stalin, had served as the DMK's North Chennai district secretary and was elected to the assembly in 2006 from the Purasawalkam constituency.
He began to be sidelined after the rise of P K Sekar Babu, a former AIADMK leader, within the DMK.
After being removed as district secretary, he joined the AIADMK and, ahead of the elections, moved to TVK.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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