The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has bagged five of eight assembly seats in the two districts even as two of its women candidates lost the battle of ballots to Congress candidates, while former DMK Minister K. R. Periyakaruppan retained his Tirupattur seat.
The AIADMK which had fielded candidates in all the four assembly segments in Sivaganga district and three in Ramanathapuram, while allotting the Tiruvadanai constituency to actor S. Karunas, leader of Mukkulathor Pulipadai, won three seats in Ramanathapuram and two in Sivaganga districts.
Women candidates lose
Two of its women candidates, Keerthika Muniasamy, who stepped down as Chairperson of the Paramakudi Municipality and contested from Mudukulathur and Karpagam Ilango, who stepped down as Chairperson of Karaikudi Municipality and contested from Karaikudi, however, lost to Congress nominees S. Pandi and K. R. Ramasamy respectively.
Former DMK Minister K R Periyakaruppan, who was at the centre of controversy over a video, featuring him went viral on social media, retained his Tirupattur seat.
Having scrapped through in the 2011 elections with a slender margin of 1,584 votes, he registered a thumping victory, defeating the AIADMK candidate Ashokan by a margin of 41,503 votes. He polled 1,10,219 votes and Mr Ashokan got 68,716 votes.
In Tiruvadanai, actor S. Karunas, who entered the fray with an outsider tag, won the seat, defeating DMK nominee T. Diwakaran, son of sitting MLA and former Minister Suba Thangavelan by a margin of 8,696 votes.
Karunas polled 76,786 votes while Diwakaran polled 68,090 votes.
Dr. M. Manikandan, a new face fielded by AIADMK, defeated Ramanathapuram sitting MLA and leader of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) M. H. Jawahirullah by a margin of 33,611 votes. He polled 89,036 votes and Mr. Jawahirullah, 55,425 votes.
New face
The AIADMK, retained the Paramakudi (Res) seat with Dr. S. Muthiah, a new face, who replaced Sports Minister S. Sundararaj, defeating DMK’s U Thisaiveeran by a margin of 11,389 votes. He polled 79,254 votes and Mr Thisaiveeran, 67,865 votes.
Mudukulathur witnessed a close fight between Keerthika Muniasamy and Congress candidate S. Pandi alias ‘Malaysia’ Pandi, before the latter won by a margin of 13,348 votes.
He was polled 94,946 votes and Ms. Muniasamy 81,598 votes. Mr. Pandi, who had lost the 2001 elections by a margin of 2,669 votes staged a comeback after hard work.
In Karaikudi, K R Ramasamy, who won from Tiruvadanai assembly segment for five successive terms and unsuccessfully contested from Karaikudi in the last elections, defeated Ms. Ilango by a margin of 18,283 votes. He was polled 93,419 votes and Ms. Ilango, 75,136 votes.
The AIADMK which had allotted the Sivaganga seat to its allies in the last two assembly elections, entered the fray after a gap of ten years and won the seat with its nominee K. Baskaran winning the seat by a margin of 6,636 votes, defeating DMK candidate Sathianathan.
He was polled 81,697 votes and the DMK candidate 75,061 votes.
In Manamadurai (Res), the AIADMK recorded a hat-trick with its nominee Mariappan Kennedy winning the seat, defeating DMK’s Chitraselvi by a margin of 14,889 votes. He was polled 89,893 votes and DMK candidate 75,004 votes.
The party had replaced two-time winner M Gunasekaran in the last two elections with Mr. Kennedy.
