The DMK’s Anniyur Siva secured a decisive win in the by-election to the Vikravandi assembly seat by a wide margin of 67,757 votes on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
At the end of the 5th round Mr. Siva had polled 31,151 votes while Mr. Anbumani had secured 11,483 votes.
But after the 9th round, Mr. Siva was sitting pretty at 57,483 votes while Mr. Anbumani had secured only 24,130 votes.
The margin continued to increase in the subsequent rounds and after 18 rounds, the DMK candidate had polled 1,13,671 votes against 50,454 votes garnered by Mr. Anbumani.
As the counting of votes began on Saturday, DMK supporters had begun to trickle in at Vikravandi.
The DMK’s Anniyur Siva secured a decisive win in the by-election to the Vikravandi assembly seat by a wide margin of 67,757 votes on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
Assembly bypolls results 2024 LIVE
As per the final results announced after 21 rounds of counting of votes, Mr. Siva polled 1,24,053 votes, while his nearest rival C. Anbumani of the PMK, contesting as an NDA candidate, mustered only 56,296 votes.
There were 2,37,031 voters in the constituency of whom 1,96,269 had exercised their franchise.
Mr. Siva had established an early lead and polled 5,564 votes after the first round of counting against 2,894 secured by Mr. Anbumani. The DMK candidate never appeared to trail and extended his lead in subsequent rounds as well, though the margin varied.
At the end of the 5th round Mr. Siva had polled 31,151 votes while Mr. Anbumani had secured 11,483 votes. But after the 9th round, Mr. Siva was sitting pretty at 57,483 votes while Mr. Anbumani had secured only 24,130 votes.
The margin continued to increase in the subsequent rounds and after 18 rounds, the DMK candidate had polled 1,13,671 votes against 50,454 votes garnered by Mr. Anbumani. At the end of the 21st round of counting, Mr. Siva romped home with 1,24,053 votes. NOTA was opted by for 859 voters.
Though the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) was also in the fray, the battleground in Vikravandi was perceived to be a direct fight between the DMK and the PMK. The AIADMK and DMDK had boycotted the polls.
Of the 29 candidates, 27 including the Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Abinaya Ponnivalavan forfeited their deposits.
The first round of the result was declared at 9.15 a.m. while the last round was declared at 3.06 p.m. At the end, Mr. Siva was declared the winner.
Counting of postal ballots began at 8 a.m. and the votes polled in electronic voting machines began at 8.30 a.m. in the presence of District Election Officer and Collector C. Palani, General Observer Amit Singh Bansal and the Returning Officer M. Chandrasekhar.
Votes were counted over 21 rounds across 14 tables by more than 100 counting officials.
The by-election, necessitated by the death of DMK MLA N. Pugazhenthi, was keenly contested amid serious allegations of large-scale bribery of voters.
Victory a result of good governance: Anniyur Siva
Addressing the media at the counting centre, Mr. Siva asserted that the outcome had been virtually guaranteed from the beginning of the election, and the victory was a result of the good governance of the DMK over the past three years.
As the counting of votes began on Saturday, DMK supporters had begun to trickle in at Vikravandi. By afternoon, the crowed swelled into a massive gathering erupting into joyous celebrations over the bypoll victory.
