Puducherry, Oct 9 (IANS): The ruling All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) retained the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in Puducherry on Friday, with its candidate Ashok Anand winning the bypoll by 8,482 votes, delivering a decisive victory for Chief Minister N. Rangasamy’s party.
Anand secured 13,358 votes, while Congress candidate E. Vinayagam finished second with 4,876 votes.
The DMK’s K. Sethu Selvam came third with 2,664 votes, according to the Election Commission’s results.
The bypoll was necessitated by Rangasamy’s resignation from Thattanchavady after he won both this constituency and Mangalam in the April Assembly election. The Chief Minister chose to retain Mangalam, leaving Thattanchavady vacant and requiring a fresh election.
The result allows the N.R. Congress to retain a constituency closely associated with Rangasamy’s political career. It also gives the ruling alliance an electoral boost just months after the formation of the government following the Assembly polls.
Eleven candidates contested the election, held on Tuesday (October 6). Apart from the three principal contenders, the field included CPI candidate A.M. Saleem and Naam Tamilar Katchi nominee S. Karthikumari, along with candidates from other parties and Independents.
Anand, a former legislator, contested with support from the BJP, AIADMK and Lakshiya Jananayaga Katchi.
Congress candidate Vinayagam had the backing of the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam, adding another political dimension to the contest in the union territory.
Counting began at 8 a.m. on Friday at the Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic College in Lawspet. Postal ballots were taken up first, followed by votes recorded in electronic voting machines, which were counted over four rounds.
Anand established an advantage from the opening stages of counting and maintained his lead as the rounds progressed.
The final tally confirmed a substantial gap between the ruling party’s candidate and his nearest rival. A total of 21,756 electors voted, comprising 10,056 men, 11,695 women and five third-gender voters.
The constituency recorded a turnout of 80.81 per cent, lower than participation in the April general election.
Following polling, the electronic voting machines were moved to the polytechnic college and stored in a strongroom under three-tier police security. The arrangements remained in place ahead of counting.
The verdict completes the electoral process triggered by the Chief Minister’s decision to vacate the seat, returning Thattanchavady to the N.R. Congress and sending Anand to the Assembly as its elected representative.
