RK Nagar By-Election Result LIVE: "We Are The Real AIADMK, People Of RK Nagar Have Voted Amma's Successor," Says TTV Dhinakaran
After three rounds of counting of votes for the high-profile RK Nagar by-election, Independent candidate TTV Dhinakaran has taken a significant lead. The sidelined leader said a short while ago that the leads "showed that people want a change of regime." Mr Dhinakaran, who used to be number 2 of the AIADMK after his aunt VK Sasikala before being sidelined by EPS and OPS, said: "We are the true AIADMK. The people of RK Nagar have elected Amma's successor." The RK Nagar assembly constituency was a seat which was held twice by Jayalalithaa. She represented the seat till her death last year.Mr Dhinakaran downplayed the EPS and OPS camp winning the 'Two-Leaves' symbol of the AIADMK. Both camps -- EPS, OPS as well as Sasikala-Dhinakaran -- had staked claim for the party symbly before the Election Commission, which ultimately ruled in favour of Team EPS and OPS.Speaking to reporters, Mr Dhinakaran said, "During my recent visits to various parts of Tamil Nadu such as Avinashi (Tirupur) and Arumanai (Kanyakumari), people said that the pressure cooker (his poll symbol at RK Nagar) will win. They want a change of this regime," he said. TTV Dhinakaran's statement to reporters in Madurai came in response to the early leads he had taken against his AIADMK rival E Madhusudhanan and DMK's N Marudhu Ganesh.
RK Nagar election result LIVE UPDATES: In high stakes battles, AIADMK, sidelined party leader TTV Dinakaran and DMK vie for Jayalalithaa’s seat. RK Nagar election result LIVE UPDATES: In high stakes battles, AIADMK, sidelined party leader TTV Dinakaran and DMK vie for Jayalalithaa’s seat.
Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran, who is contesting as an independent in the RK Nagar bye-election, has established an firm lead of over 10,000 votes over his nearest rival, AIADMK candidate E Madhusudhanan. Buoyed by the early trends, Dinakaran claimed victory in the bye-election. “We are the true AIADMK… people of RK Nagar have elected Amma’s successor,” he told reporters.
RK Nagar assembly seat fell vacant following the demise of former AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha. The bypoll contest in Radhakrishnan Nagar is widely being perceived as an acid test for the AIADMK as this is the first election the party is contesting after the death of Jayalalithaa. A total of 59 candidates are vying for the bypoll assembly seat, including the BJP. But, primarily, the election is being seen as a direct contest between the AIADMK, DMK and TTV Dinakaran, who is fighting as an independent.
ALSO READ | RK Nagar election result LIVE UPDATES in Tamil
RK Nagar election result LIVE UPDATES:
1.20 pm: It appears that Dinakaran is running away with this election, the latest trends show that he has stretched his lead to over 15,000 votes.
# TTV Dinakaran — 34,346 votes
# AIADMK — 17,471 votes
# DMK — 9,206 votes
1.10 pm: After the first 6 rounds of counting in RK Nagar bypoll, the BJP candidate (485 votes) has got fewer votes than NOTA (798 votes). Meanwhile, TTV Dinakaran is in the lead with 29,255 votes.
12.40 pm: After five rounds of counting, TTV Dhinakaran is still in the lead with 24132 votes, AIADMKs E. Madhusudhanan is second with 13057 votes and DMK’s N. Marudhu Ganesh is third with 6606 votes.
12.30 pm: It appears the 2G spectrum verdict had no impact on the RK Nagar bypoll. Though the verdict was a shot in the arm for the DMK, the party has so far polled a little over 5,000 votes in the first three rounds of counting.
11.50 am: Dinakaran extends lead to over 10,000 votes. Here are the trends at 11.30 am: TTV Dinakara — 20,298 votes, AIADMK — 9,672, DMK — 5091.
11.40 am: Buoyed by the early trends giving him a clear lead, Dinakaran told reporters: “We are the true AIADMK… people of RK Nagar have elected Amma’s successor.”
He said that people wanted a change of regime and ensured him they would vote for him in RK Nagar. “During my recent visits to various parts of Tamil Nadu such as Avinashi (Tirupur) and Arumanai (Kanyakumari), people said the pressure cooker (his poll symbol at RK Nagar) will win. They want a change of this regime,”
On the Election Commission’s decision to hand over the two leaves party symbol to the AIADMK, Dinakaran said: “We are the true AIADMK. A candidate determines the symbol. I have already said the ‘Two Leaves’ will be a success symbol only if it was with Puratchi Thalaivar (MGR) and Amma (Jayalalithaa). Will the people vote if it is handed over to MN Nambiar and PS Veerappa?”
11.30 am:Countingg is also underway for seats in Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal and West Bengal. Click here to READ MORE.
11.00 am: Dinakaran is still in the lead after round two of voting. The mood outside his residence is quite upbeat. Supporters have begun distributing sweets. Here are the numbers: TTV Dinakaran — 15868 votes, AIADMK — 7033, and DMK — 3750.
10.10 am: TTV Dinakaran has established a firm lead of over 5000 votes over his rivals. AIADMK is lagging in second with 4520 votes and DMK is in third with 2323. The BJP, it appears is nowhere where in the contest.
10.00 am: It is still early days, but Dinakaran supporters have already kickstarted the celebrations. Only two rounds have been completed in this 18 round contest.
Dinakaran supporters celebrate outside his residence. (Source: ANI) Dinakaran supporters celebrate outside his residence. (Source: ANI)
9.50 am: After the brief interruption, the Election Commission said that counting has resumed. Meanwhile, additional police force is being deployed in light of the violence inside the counting station.
“Police restored peace. Nothing alarming. Compilation of second round going on,” an EC official said.
9.40 am: Counting has been stopped after ruckus inside the counting station in Chennai’s Queen Mary’s College. AIADMK members allegedly slapped TTV Dinakaran’s supporters. Police accused of remaining mute spectators. Dinakaran was leading the contest with 7276 votes.
As TTV was leading with 7276 votes, counting stopped, TTV men slapped by AIADMK people inside the counting station, police being blamed for being mute spectators for sometime, force being deployed now
9.30 am: Exit polls had earlier called this election in favour of TTV Dinakaran. Unfazed by the predictions, both AIADMK and DMK, however, have
expressed confidence that they would win the seat.
9.20 am: As many as 200 officials drawn from both Central and State government services have been deputed for the exercise. Tight security is in place with state and Central Armed Police Forces personnel providing multi-layered security, reports PTI.
9.10 am: In the subsequent rounds of counting, it appears the AIADMK has managed to slash Dinakaran’s early lead to a slender margin of over 600 votes.
Here are the numbers: TTV Dinakaran — 5399 votes, AIADMK — 2737 votes, DMK — 181 votes.
9.00 am: After round one, TTV Dinakaran is in the lead with 1891 votes, AIADMK is trailing in second with 646 votes and DMK is third with 360 votes.
8:45 am: TTV Dinakaran supporters already started celebrations at his residence near Besant Nagar beach.
8:30 am: In the first round, TTV Dinakaran leading by 412 votes.
07:31 am: “Apart from BJP other parties that contested used corrupt practices and distributed money in a big way,” says Karu Nagarajan, BJP candidate from RK Nagar outside a vote counting center in Chennai.
Karu Nagarajan, BJP candidate from RK Nagar. Karu Nagarajan, BJP candidate from RK Nagar.
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LIVE HIGHLIGHTS: TTV Dinakaran has declared himself as the “true political heir” of the late J Jayalalithaa after zooming ahead in the by-election to RK Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu. Thanking voters, the sidelined AIADMK leader has vowed to bring down the EPS-OPS government in the state “within three months”. The bypoll was primarily a contest between Dinakaran and the merged faction of chief minister E Palaniswami and deputy CM O Panneerselvam, with the result deciding the battle for Jayalalithaa’s legacy. While Dinakaran contested as an Independent candidate, the EPS-OPS faction had fielded Madhusudhanan. The DMK, too, tried to make it a triangular contest, fielding N Maruthu Ganesh. The bypoll was first scheduled to be held in April this year, but was cancelled due to complaints of large-scale voter bribery. This round of voting was also not devoid of controversy. A Dinakaran loyalist released a video on the eve of the by-election purportedly showing Jayalalithaa in a hospital few days before her death. Counting to by-elections is also being held in three other states. While the BJP is leading in Sikandra (Uttar Pradesh) and Pakke-Kasang (Arunachal Pradesh), it has won in Likabali (Arunachal). The Trinamool Congress is leading in Sabang (West Bengal).
Current Leads
TTV Dinakaran (Independent): 30,457
E Madhusudhanan (AIADMK): 15,949
N Maruthu Ganesh (DMK): 8,364
Stay tuned as Aditya Nair brings you LIVE updates:
Dec 24, 2017 1:11 pm (IST) "The people of RK Nagar have given me a big victory. I am an independent candidate just for namesake, all party (AIADMK) workers are with me. I also have Amma (Jayalalithaa)'s wishes," says TTV Dinakaran.
Dec 24, 2017 1:05 pm (IST) LEADS | After the seventh round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 30,457 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 15,949 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 8364 votes.
Dec 24, 2017 12:48 pm (IST) LEADS | After the sixth round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 29,257 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 14,854 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 7,750 votes.
Dec 24, 2017 12:39 pm (IST) #SABANG: WIN | The Trinamool Congress has won the Sabang Assembly seat by-election in West Bengal with 1,06,179 votes, wresting the seat from the Congress. The Trinamool had fielded Gita Rani Bhunia, wife of Manas Bhunia, a former Congress MLA who had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party earlier this year necessitating the by-election. Bhunia had won the seat in last year's assembly polls. The BJP had nominated Antara Bhattacharya, while the Congress has fielded Chiranjib Bhowmick, a local leader. Rita Mandal of the CPI(M) is contesting as a Left Front candidate.
Dec 24, 2017 12:38 pm (IST) #LIKABALI: WIN | The BJP has won the by-election to Likabali Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh with 2,908 votes, while the Peoples Party of Arunachal managed only 2,136 votes. The constituency witnessed a multi-cornered contest by Kardo Nyigyor (BJP), Modam Dini (Congress), Gumke Riba of Peoples Party of Arunachal and Independent candidate Sengo Taipodia. The Likabali seat had fallen vacant after the death of state health and family welfare minister Jomde Kena in September.
Dec 24, 2017 12:34 pm (IST) TTV Dinakaran has reached Chennai and will now travel straight to the Amma memorial in Marina Beach. He is leading the RK Nagar by-polls with a huge margin and is likely to win the seat.
Dec 24, 2017 12:01 pm (IST) #SIKANDRA: LEADS | The BJP is leading with 19,879 votes in the by-election to the Sikandra Assembly seat of Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party is at the second spot with 18,560 votes. The Congress is trailing at the third spot with 3,943 votes. Sikandra constituency falls in Kanpur Dehat district, a place which gained notoriety after the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste Rajputs allegedly by Phoolan Devi and her gang to avenge her rape. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal on July 22 due to illness. The BJP had fielded Pal's son Ajit Pal Singh, who fought mainly against Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party and Prabhakar of the Congress party.
Dec 24, 2017 11:51 am (IST) BJP's Subramanian Swamy is taking potshots at his own party after its dismal show in the RK Nagar by-election: TN BJP record: A national ruling party gets a quarter of NOTA’s vote. Time for accountability — Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) December 24, 2017
Dec 24, 2017 11:46 am (IST) #SABANG | LEADS | The Trinamool Congress is leading in the Sabang Assembly seat by-election in West Bengal with 1,03,810 votes. The Left Front is trailing at the second spot with 41,570 votes. The BJP is trailing with 36,727 votes. The Trinamool had fielded Gita Rani Bhunia, wife of Manas Bhunia, a former Congress MLA who had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party earlier this year necessitating the by-election. Bhunia had won the seat in last year's assembly polls. The BJP had nominated Antara Bhattacharya, while the Congress has fielded Chiranjib Bhowmick, a local leader. Rita Mandal of the CPI(M) is contesting as a Left Front candidate.
Dec 24, 2017 11:43 am (IST) LEADS | After the fourth round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 20,298 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 9,672 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 5,091 votes. The votes for NOTA have been recorded at 493 so far, while the BJP has only managed 318.
Dec 24, 2017 11:30 am (IST) TTV Dinakaran, after he reaches Chennai, will directly go to Amma (Jayalalithaa) memorial in Marina Beach.
Dec 24, 2017 11:07 am (IST) LEADS | After the third round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 15,868 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 7,033 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 3,750 votes.
Dec 24, 2017 11:01 am (IST) Visuals of AIADMK agents creating a ruckus inside the counting center and throwing a chair: #EXCLUSIVE - AIADMK supporters attack EC officials. Paramilitary forces brought in.#RkNagarByPoll
LIVE: https://t.co/r2Zqa4JZMP pic.twitter.com/6ZyJpy5fl3 — News18 (@CNNnews18) December 24, 2017
Dec 24, 2017 10:54 am (IST) #LIKABALI: BJP leader Kiren Rijiju has congratulated his party members for winning the Likabali by-election in Arunachal Pradesh: Congratulations to @BJP4India ! The MLA bye-election of Likabali Assembly Constituency in Arunachal Pradesh is won by BJP. Pakke-Kesang Assembly counting is still going on. — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 24, 2017
Dec 24, 2017 10:51 am (IST) "The EPS-OPS government will fall in three months," says TTV Dinakaran, while addressing the media at Madurai airport. He added that the RK Nagar elections result reflects the mindset of the Tamil Nadu people, who want to see him take over Jayalalithaa's seat and her legacy. His supporters cheer him as 'RK Nagar MLA TTV Dinakaran'.
Dec 24, 2017 10:38 am (IST) #SABANG: LEADS | The Trinamool Congress is leading in the Sabang Assembly seat by-election in West Bengal with 54,714 votes. The CPI(M) is trailing at the second spot with 30,023 votes. The BJP is trailing with 21,629 votes. The Trinamool had fielded Gita Rani Bhunia, wife of Manas Bhunia, a former Congress MLA who had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party earlier this year necessitating the by-election. Bhunia had won the seat in last year's assembly polls. The BJP had nominated Antara Bhattacharya, while the Congress has fielded Chiranjib Bhowmick, a local leader. Rita Mandal of the CPI(M) is contesting as a Left Front candidate.
Dec 24, 2017 10:37 am (IST) BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has tweeted about the RK Nagar by-poll leads, which show TTV Dinakaran surging ahead. The leader had earlier thrown his weight behind Dinakaran, claiming that VK Sasikala's nephew alone could 'save Tamil Nadu': Dinakaran seems to have won the R K Nagar election caused by JJ death. I expect to see the two ADMK factions now to unite for 2019 LS poll — Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) December 24, 2017
Dec 24, 2017 10:35 am (IST) LEADS | After the second round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 10421 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 4521 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 2323 votes.
Dec 24, 2017 10:31 am (IST) #SIKANDRA: LEADS | The BJP is leading with 13,758 votes in the by-election to the Sikandra Assembly seat of Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party is at the second spot with 9,968 votes. The Congress is trailing at the third spot with 1,665 votes. Sikandra constituency falls in Kanpur Dehat district, a place which gained notoriety after the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste Rajputs allegedly by Phoolan Devi and her gang to avenge her rape. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal on July 22 due to illness. The BJP had fielded Pal's son Ajit Pal Singh, who fought mainly against Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party and Prabhakar of the Congress party.
Dec 24, 2017 10:27 am (IST) #PAKKE-KESSANG: LEADS | After two rounds of counting, the BJP is leading with 1247 votes, followed closely by the Congress with 1143. In this in Arunachal, former deputy chief minister Kameng Dolo (Congress) is contesting against BJP nominee BR Waghe. The Pakke-Kessang seat fell vacant after the Gauhati High Court declared null and void the election of Kameng Dolo from the seat in 2014 following an election petition filed against him by BJP nominee and former minister Atum Welly.
Dec 24, 2017 10:13 am (IST) LEADS | TTV Dinakaran is currently leading with 10391 votes in RK Nagar by-election. He is followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 4520 votes, while DMK's Maruthu Ganesh gets 2323 votes.
Dec 24, 2017 10:09 am (IST) While the DEO claimed that counting has resumed, News18 reporters inside the center are saying that there is still chaos inside the counting hall.
Dec 24, 2017 9:57 am (IST) #SIKANDRA: LEADS | The BJP is leading with 8,636 votes in the by-election to the Sikandra Assembly seat of Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party is at the second spot with 5,667 votes. The Congress is trailing at third spot with 979 votes. Sikandra constituency falls in Kanpur Dehat district, a place which gained notoriety after the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste Rajputs allegedly by Phoolan Devi and her gang to avenge her rape. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal on July 22 due to illness. The BJP had fielded Pal's son Ajit Pal Singh, who fought mainly against Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party and Prabhakar of the Congress party. A total of 12 aspirants were in the contest, including five independent candidates. In the 2017 Assembly polls, Mathura Pal had polled 87,879 votes, defeating the nearest Bahujan Samaj Party rival Mahendra Katiyar (Bablu), who got 49,776 votes.
Dec 24, 2017 9:53 am (IST) AIADMK agents and cadres are demanding that journalists be evicted from the center as they are spreading information about the leads. The police and para-military have restored peace and the compilation of second round of votes has resumed.
Dec 24, 2017 9:42 am (IST) Meanwhile, TTV Dinakaran's supporters are celebrating as early trends show him leading by a huge margin: Chennai: TTV Dhinakaran supporters celebrate outside a counting center as early official EC trends indicate his lead #RKNagarByPoll pic.twitter.com/XfBkehnknB — ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2017
Dec 24, 2017 9:41 am (IST) A massive fight has broken out inside the Queen Mary's college, where the counting for RK Nagar by-election is taking place. News18 has exclusive visuals of AIADMK agents clashing with counting officials and even chairs flying inside the center. Para-military forces have been rushed in to handle the situation:
Dec 24, 2017 9:31 am (IST) There are unconfirmed reports that counting officials have been attacked by AIADMK agents inside the center.
Dec 24, 2017 9:26 am (IST) LEADS | After the second round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 7276 votes in RK Nagar by-election. He is followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who got 2737 votes at the end of the first round, while DMK's Maruthu Ganesh gets 1181 votes at Round 1 end.
After a record voter turnout of 77.68 percent on Thursday, the counting of votes for the high-profile RK Nagar Assembly seat will take place on Sunday. The results are expected to be out by afternoon that day, PTI reported.
TTV Dinakaran seems set for a big win in the by-election to RK Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu. Thanking voters, the sidelined AIADMK leader has vowed to bring down the EPS-OPS government in the state “within three months”.
Voting for the RK Nagar bypoll passed off peacefully amid tight security. Election officials in Chennai said there may be some variation in the figure after taking into consideration the polling percentage at some booths where voting went on beyond 5 pm. The voter turnout is higher than the 68 percent recorded in the 2016 Assembly election,according to officials.
RK Nagar, represented twice by Jayalalithaa, has an electorate of 2,28,234, comprising 1,10,903 men, 1,17,232 women and 99 transgenders.
Election officials said 79.21 percent of women voters exercised their franchise while 75.92 percent of men cast their votes.
The bypoll is being seen as an acid test for the Chief Minister E Palaniswamy and his deputy O Panneeerselvam-led ruling AIADMK which is facing a strong challenge from Dhinakaran and an aggressive DMK.
The DMK is putting up a tough fight to wrest the seat after a hiatus of over two decades.
Of the 59 candidates in the fray, the fight is essentially triangular with the key contenders being ruling AIADMK's E Madhusudhanan, main opposition DMK candidate N Maruthu Ganesh and Dhinakaran, contesting as an independent.
The ruling AIADMK got back its Two Leaves election symbol back following merger of factions led by Palaniswami and former rebel O Panneerselvam.
The run up to the bypoll saw political parties and candidates holding as many as 152 public meetings and taking out 605 processions with the campaigning ending on 19 December.
The 2015 RK Nagar bypoll in which Jayalalithaa was elected by a huge margin of 1.5 lakh votes for the first time in this segment had witnessed a record 75 percent turnout.
Voting at 258 polling stations passed off peacefully with 2500 state police personnel, 15 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and 1638 election officers manning the poll process.
Serpentine queues were witnessed in booth after booth, right from 8 am when voting began with women outnumbering men in several of them.
A large number of people were awaiting their turn to vote even at the scheduled close of voting at five pm.
All those who were present inside the polling stations ahead of the 5 pm deadline were given tokens by officials to ensure that they exercised their franchise.
There were, however, sporadic complaints of snag in EVMs, and consequential delay.
Some voters complained that their names were deleted, othes claimed their names were struck off the rolls wrongly categorising them as "dead."
Gun-toting Central Armed Police Force personnel in their trademark green uniforms were stationed at all the polling stations and across the 45 checkposts in and around the RK Nagar constituency.
Senior poll officials including the district election Officer D Karthikeyan inspected the polling stations.
Several dozens of flying squad teams, static surveillance teams and video surveillance teams were deployed in the constituency.
Election authorities made elaborate arrangements to ensure both hassle free environs for voters and measures for free and fair polling with nine observers, 307 micro-observers and 258 web cameras to monitor the poll process.
Chennai Corporation personnel drafted for poll duty took differently-abled persons inside the polling stations using wheel-chairs.
In booths that had a significantly high number of voters, a medical team comprising doctors, and paramedics were stationed.
'Pandals' were put up, and help desks helped people find the right booth to vote. Amenities like drinking water, and toilets were also in place.
With inputs from PTI
