The idea of a large ‘third front’ came a cropper on Thursday with the DMDK- PWF-TMC alliance failing to win a single seat.
The biggest loser of the Assembly polls was clearly the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), the vote share of which was cut down to 2.4 per cent from 8 per cent in 2011.
What’s more, its founder Vijayakant, who was projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the front, finished a distant third with 34,447 votes, well behind the winning AIADMK candidate R. Kumaraguru’s 81,973 votes in Ulundurpet.
In fact, the entire front was decimated.
The strongest contestant of the front was VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, lost by a small margin of 87 votes in Kattumannarkoil. The spoiler perhaps was a namesake Independent candidate in the reserved seat who polled 289 votes. However, data showed in a number of constituencies, the third front candidates polled more than the margin of victory of the successful candidate, playing the role of a spoiler. In combination with the performance of the PMK in the Northern region, this seems to have adversely affected the DMK.
For example, in Virudhachalam, the victory margin of the AIADMK candidate over his nearest rival was 13,777 votes, whereas the DMDK candidate polled 18,563 votes.
Its vote share came down to 2.4 per cent from
8 per cent in 2011,
Vijayakant finishes
distant third
