In what could be described as a historic event in the political saga of Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK, led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, was on Thursday voted back to power for the second consecutive term in the recently-concluded Assembly election, by bagging 134 out of 232 seats.
Even as counting was in progress, the AIADMK established an unassailable position early on by leading in 131 seats out of the 232 constituencies which went to polls on Monday.
This is the first time in 32 years, since 1984 to be precise, that Tamil Nadu has voted back an incumbent Chief Minister to power for a second consecutive term. Jayalalithaa is expected to be sworn in as Chief Minister on Monday.
The 2016 Assembly election results have dashed the dreams of Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the 93-year-old chief of the DMK, who was hoping to become the Chief Minister for a record sixth time. Karunanidhi has taken his final bow from electoral politics too as the next Assembly election is in 2021 by which time the Grand Old Man of the DMK would be 98.
Though the AIADMK romped home, some of the prominent Ministers in the Jayalalithaa Cabinet were defeated. Natham R Viswanathan, Valarmathi, Gokula Indira, Palaniappan are some of the senior Ministers who fell by the wayside.
The biggest let down was the obliteration of the People's Welfare Front, a rainbow alliance of six parties. Prominent leaders of the front including DMDK chief Vijayakanth and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan were defeated. The PMK, which had projected Anbumani Ramadoss as chief ministerial candidate fell by the wayside. Though the PMK had contested from all the 232 constituencies, it could win only one seat. The party had to bear the ignominy of seeing Ramadoss getting defeated at Pennagaram.
Though there are 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, elections to two constituencies were deferred by the Election Commission following allegations of widespread cash and gift distribution by the contesting parties. Polling to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur would be held on May 23 and results announced on May 25.
The final results indicate that the fight for Fort Saint George was a closely contested one. What made this election different was the stiff fight put up by the DMK-Congress combine which went down fighting. But it turned out to be a major comeback for the DMK which had been facing "successive" defeats in all the elections since the 2011 Assembly polls. The 2011 Assembly election saw the DMK finishing a poor third with 23 seats while in the 2014 lok Sabha election, the Dravidian party was literally wiped out from the State by the AIADMK.
The new Assembly to be constituted in the next couple of weeks would see sparks flying as the ruling party has to face an Opposition which is numerically much stronger than in the previous Houses.
An elated Jayalalithaa told reporters who met her at her residence at Poes Garden that there were not enough words in the dictionary to express gratitude to the people of Tamil Nadu for the resounding victory bestowed on her and the AIADMK. "I'll express my gratitude and thanks by launching more and more welfare measures for the betterment of the life of the people in Tamil Nadu. I'll also strive hard to fulfill the promises I made in the election manifesto," said Jayalalithaa.
She said Thursday's victory as a historic event as no ruling parties have been given a second successive term by the people of Tamil Nadu since 1984. "I was opposed by ten political parties under various formations and dispensations. My alliance was with the people of Tamil Nadu since I knew well that they would never let me down. People's verdict is equivalent to God's verdict," said the AIADMK general secretary.
Jayalalithaa reminded all that her "mantra" throughout the election was about her alliance with the people. "I am for you and I am what I am only because of you. I don't have anyone in this life other than the people of Tamil Nadu. I have no interest in life other than working for the people of Tamil Nadu," she said.