Chennai, May 2: After a decade in opposition, the DMK won a convincing victory over arch-rival AIADMK in Tamil Na du and the ruling party managed to emerge as a formidable opposition, overcoming the burden of ten year anti-incumbency to an extent.
M K Stalin, the 68-year-old DMK president, is all set to become the Chief Minister for the first time. During his party’s previous tenure, he has been the Deputy Chief Minister and Local Administration Minister as well.
As counting of votes polled in the April 6 TN Assembly election progressed on Sunday, it became amply clear that the DMK was dislodging the AIADMK from the seat of power.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Tamil Nadu people who voted for the National Democratic Alliance and said his party would continue to work for state’s welfare and nurturing Tamil culture.
“I laud our workers who worked hard,” he added.
Round after round, the DMK and its allies improved their tally and the Stalin-led party together with its partners, appeared winning at least 155 seats in the 234-member Assembly while 118 seats is the minimum number required for a simple majority.
The Election Commission is yet to declare winners for all the 234 segments and also complete data on winning margin was not available, till 10 pm, Sunday. The DMK’s vote share was 37.7 per cent with an impressive performance in regions including southern and northern regions while the AIADMK sliced away 33.4 percent and also demonstrated that the Kongu belt of Coimbatore was still its bastion. (PTI)