AINRC retains Thattanchavady with decisive win, reaffirms Rangasamy's hold

The ruling AINRC on Friday retained the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in Puducherry, reaffirming Chief Minister N Rangasamy's longstanding hold over the seat.

AINRC candidate Ashok Anand defeated his nearest Congress rival E Vinayagam by 8,482 votes in the bypoll, marking the party's first electoral test since the April 9 Assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Anand secured 13,358 votes, while Vinayagam polled 4,876. The DMK's K Sethu, also known as Sethuselvam, received 2,664 votes, according to Election Commission data.

AINRC maintained its lead over the Congress and DMK from the beginning of counting at 8 am. The counting concluded after four rounds at Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic College in Lawspet.

The bypoll was necessitated by Rangasamy's resignation from Thattanchavady after he also won the Mangalam constituency in the April elections.

Anand, a former legislator and close confidant of Rangasamy, contested the seat for the AINRC, which leads the NDA coalition government in Puducherry.

The result reinforces Rangasamy's influence in Thattanchavady, from where he has not lost an election since 1991.