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| DMK scores again from Tamil Nadu |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi May 17, 2009, 01:55 IST |
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The old adage has held true in Tamil Nadu – whichever regional party aligns with the Congress, wins. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliance has won 27 of the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
However, one Congress heavyweight – Union Cabinet Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar – has lost. And the other, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, would also have been declared a loser in his constituency of Sivaganga if he hadn’t demanded a recount – in which he managed to scrape through.
The opposition, led by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which had a large number of partners, could secure only 12 seats.
Significantly, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party, which was with the UPA till March before switching to the AIADMK alliance, lost all the seven seats it contested.
With the AIADMK-PMK combine not doing well, the DMK swept the polls in the northern region, the PMK’s base, which also includes the state capital Chennai. The DMK won 18 of the 21 seats it contested. Last time, it had won all the 16 seats it contested.
The Congress could win only eight of the 16 seats it contested. This, according to a political analyst, could be due to the Tamil Eelam issue in Sri Lanka, where the Congress is blamed for not acting early enough to avert the crisis.
The other three AIADMK alliance partners – the CPI, the CPM and the MDMK – won only a seat each, while the MDMK led by Vaiko won only one of the four seats it fought.
The third force in the state led by film star Vijaykanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), did not win any seat.
The BJP contested on its own and also did not win any seats.
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