The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) emerged victorious in the by-election held for ward 4 in Madurai Corporation with its candidate K. Shanmugam winning by a big margin.
The AIADMK candidate secured 4,977 votes of the 7,278 votes polled and won by a margin of 3,011 votes.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate S. Arjunan polled 1,966 votes and was able to retain his deposit.
There was poor turnout in the by-poll that was held on September 18, with only 33.76 per cent of voters exercising their franchise.
Among the other candidates, Indhiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) candidate P. Selvam could only secure 44 votes and independents M. Arasapandian and Muthu Vijayan secured 127 and 164 votes respectively.
The by-poll was necessitated after the Deputy Mayor, R. Gopalakrishnan, who represented the ward, went on to successfully contest the Lok Sabha election.
Counting began at 8 a.m. at the corporation office under the supervision of Assistant Election Officer I. Ranganathan. Votes were counted in seven rounds from the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from 26 polling booths in the ward.
The AIADMK candidate maintained a steady lead right from the first round.
Except in one polling booth where the CPI (M) candidate secured 155 votes against the AIADMK’s 124, the AIADMK left the CPI(M) trailing in all the other booths.
Counting of votes took place with heavy security and the process was videographed as well.
Jubilant AIADMK cadre celebrated the victory by bursting crackers and distributing sweets.
Speaking to media persons, Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa said that though the number of votes polled had been less, the winning candidate had created a record of sorts. “When Mr. Gopalakrishnan contested, he secured 4,320 votes and won. Mr. Shanmugam has not only managed to secure more votes but has also ensured a decisive victory for the party,” he said.
When asked about the votes that the CPI (M) had secured, Mr. Rajan Chellappa said that despite a calculated effort by all rival parties to vote against the AIADMK, the ruling party had managed to emerge victorious.
Rural local bodiesCounting of votes polled in elections for five panchayat presidents and six panchayat ward members went on smoothly at union offices in the district.