TN Shocker: One Vote Costs DMK Minister, TVK’s Sethupathy Wins

In a dramatic thinnest-of-thin razor finishes at the Tiruppattur Assembly constituency in Sivaganga district, one vote proved to be fatal for Tamil Nadu Co-operation Minister KR Periyakaruppan, ending his 20-year dominance.

This would go down in history as perhaps one of the closest and most shocking upsets in Indian electoral history.

At the end of the penultimate round of counting of votes on Monday Periyakaruppan was leading by 30 votes. However, the final round brought a stunning turnaround, with election officials declaring his closest rival, Seenivasa Sethupathy of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), as the winner.

Sethupathy secured 83,365 votes, edging past Periyakaruppan, who polled 83,364 votes.

This is the first time Tiruppattur Assembly constituency has voted Periyakaruppan out after he first won the election in 2006.

KC Thirumaran of the BJP meanwhile finished a distant third with 29,054 votes--more than 54,000 votes behind the winning candidate from the consituency.

Actor-turned politician Vijay's TVK had a spectacular debut in Tamil Nadu assembly elections, winning 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, falling only 10 seats short of the majority mark.

TVK needs to cross the majority mark of 118 to form the government. The party is likely to seek the support of smaller parties that were part of either the DMK or the AIADMK alliance.

Congress (5 seats), PMK (4 seats), Left parties (4 seats) and VCK (2 seats) are among the parties that could extend support to TVK.

AICC In-charge Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, earlier said that he has given a report to Congress leadership and they will "take a call on Tamil Nadu".

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram congratulated Vijay and the party for their performance in the assembly elections, describing it as a "spectacular electoral debut".

"I congratulate Mr Vijay and the TVK for a spectacular electoral debut. People have voted for change in Tamil Nadu, and the mandate is with them now to cobble up a working majority and to give a good government to the people of Tamil Nadu," he said.

The results have also shattered long-held notions about actors struggling to succeed in politics, as Vijay now joins the league of iconic actor-turned-leaders like NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa.

TVK's victory marks a historic shift, as Tamil Nadu may witness its first government outside the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) dominance since June 1977.

- ANI