RK Nagar By-Election Result LIVE: People Have Elected Amma's Successor, Says Dinakaran After Big Win

Dinakaran lays claim to being the ‘real’ AIADMK and says that the people of RK Nagar have elected Amma’s successor. “It’s a victory for all. This government will not be here for two more months. Two leaves symbol was a victory symbol when it was with Amma. Now it's with villains. How can they win?” he asks, adding, “Whatever I had said has happened. Wait for a couple of months.”

Addressing a press conference, Dinakaran says that the victory has been given by the true loyalists of Amma. He said that all promises made by Jayalalithaa in her old constituency would be fulfilled. 

TTV Dinakaran, speaking to CNN-News18 after the poll victory, says the EPS-OPS government in Tamil Nadu would fall in three months. “People do not want this government to continue,” he said. When asked if he would try to poach MLAs from the opposing faction, he said he would not have to do anything, the government would die on its own. 

DMK’s working president MK Stalin has blamed the Election Commission for the party’s abject performance in the RK Nagar bypoll. “Not DMK, it was the Election Commission of India that faced a ‘Himalayan’ defeat in RK Nagar bypoll,” he told reporters. The party’s candidate, Maruthu Ganesh, has lost his deposit.   

DMK’s working president MK Stalin has blamed the Election Commission for the party’s abject performance in the RK Nagar bypoll. “Not DMK, it was the Election Commission of India that faced a ‘Himalayan’ defeat in RK Nagar bypoll,” he told reporters. The party’s candidate, Maruthu Ganesh, has lost his deposit.   

In the bypoll, 57 candidates, including DMK’s Maruthu Ganesh, lost their deposits. The DMK was expected to benefit by the verdict in the 2G spectrum scam case coming at an opportune time but Ganesh got only 24,651 votes. 

NOTA (None of The Above) option pipped BJP candidate Karu Nagarajan, as 2,203 voters in RK Nagar preferred it to the saffron party's candidate who received only 1,236 votes. 

It’s official. Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran, who contested the RK Nagar bypoll as an independent candidate, has scripted a historic victory by wresting Jayalalithaa’s erstwhile seat and rocking the boat of EPS and OPS. After nineteen rounds of counting, Dinakaran polled 89,013 votes, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who got 48,306 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who got 24,651 votes.

Chennai: The big win for the TTV Dinakaran faction in the prestigious RK Nagar bypoll was not unexpected. Many grass root level political workers had predicted it.

Although TTV Dinakaran’s victory is assured, the official announcement is still around half an hour away. After the eighteenth round, Dinakaran is ahead with 86,474 votes, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 47,118 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 24,075 votes.

TTV Dinakaran has mathematically won the RK Nagar bypoll. Only 32,000 votes are left to be counted and TTV Dinakaran has already extended his lead to over 36,000 votes. After 15 rounds of counting, Dinakaran is ahead with 81,317, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 44,522 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 22,962 votes.

LEADS | After the fifteenth round, TTV Dinakaran is ahead with 68,392 votes in the RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 36,217 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 18,924 votes.

LEADS | After the thirteenth round, TTV Dinakaran is ahead with 64,627 votes in the RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 33,446 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 17,111 votes.

The sidelined AIADMK leader who fought as an Independent candidate said,

LEADS | After the eleventh round, TTV Dinakaran is ahead with 54,102 votes in the RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 27,778 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 14,363 votes.

LEADS | After the tenth round, TTV Dinakaran is ahead with 48,594 votes in the RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 25,408 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 12,897 votes.

#SIKANDRA: WIN | The BJP has won the by-election to the Sikandra Assembly seat of Uttar Pradesh, defeating the Samajwadi Party candidate by around 7,000 votes. Sikandra constituency falls in Kanpur Dehat district, a place which gained notoriety after the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste Rajputs allegedly by Phoolan Devi and her gang to avenge her rape. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal on July 22 due to illness. The BJP had fielded Pal's son Ajit Pal Singh, who fought mainly against Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party and Prabhakar of the Congress party. In the 2017 Assembly polls, Mathura Pal had polled 87,879 votes, defeating the nearest Bahujan Samaj Party rival Mahendra Katiyar (Bablu), who got 49,776 votes.

LEADS | After the eighth round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 39,548 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 19,525 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 10,292 votes.

"The people of RK Nagar have given me a big victory. I am an independent candidate just for namesake, all party (AIADMK) workers are with me. I also have Amma (Jayalalithaa)'s wishes," says TTV Dinakaran.

LEADS | After the seventh round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 30,457 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 15,949 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 8364 votes.

LEADS | After the sixth round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 29,257 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 14,854 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 7,750 votes.

#SABANG: WIN | The Trinamool Congress has won the Sabang Assembly seat by-election in West Bengal with 1,06,179 votes, wresting the seat from the Congress.  The Trinamool had fielded Gita Rani Bhunia, wife of Manas Bhunia, a former Congress MLA who had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party earlier this year necessitating the by-election. Bhunia had won the seat in last year's assembly polls. The BJP had nominated Antara Bhattacharya, while the Congress has fielded Chiranjib Bhowmick, a local leader. Rita Mandal of the CPI(M) is contesting as a Left Front candidate.

#LIKABALI: WIN | The BJP has won the by-election to Likabali Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh with 2,908 votes, while the Peoples Party of Arunachal managed only 2,136 votes. The constituency witnessed a multi-cornered contest by Kardo Nyigyor (BJP), Modam Dini (Congress), Gumke Riba of Peoples Party of Arunachal and Independent candidate Sengo Taipodia. The Likabali seat had fallen vacant after the death of state health and family welfare minister Jomde Kena in September.

TTV Dinakaran has reached Chennai and will now travel straight to the Amma memorial in Marina Beach. He is leading the RK Nagar by-polls with a huge margin and is likely to win the seat.

The BJP is leading with 24,823 votes in the by-election to the Sikandra Assembly seat of Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party is at the second spot with 23,011 votes.

#SIKANDRA: LEADS | The BJP is leading with 19,879 votes in the by-election to the Sikandra Assembly seat of Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party is at the second spot with 18,560 votes. The Congress is trailing at the third spot with 3,943 votes. Sikandra constituency falls in Kanpur Dehat district, a place which gained notoriety after the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste Rajputs allegedly by Phoolan Devi and her gang to avenge her rape. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal on July 22 due to illness. The BJP had fielded Pal's son Ajit Pal Singh, who fought mainly against Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party and Prabhakar of the Congress party.

BJP's Subramanian Swamy is taking potshots at his own party after its dismal show in the RK Nagar by-election:

TN BJP record: A national ruling party gets a quarter of NOTA’s vote. Time for accountability

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) December 24, 2017

#SABANG | LEADS | The Trinamool Congress is leading in the Sabang Assembly seat by-election in West Bengal with 1,03,810 votes. The Left Front is trailing at the second spot with 41,570 votes. The BJP is trailing with 36,727 votes. The Trinamool had fielded Gita Rani Bhunia, wife of Manas Bhunia, a former Congress MLA who had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party earlier this year necessitating the by-election. Bhunia had won the seat in last year's assembly polls. The BJP had nominated Antara Bhattacharya, while the Congress has fielded Chiranjib Bhowmick, a local leader. Rita Mandal of the CPI(M) is contesting as a Left Front candidate.

LEADS | After the fourth round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 20,298 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 9,672 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 5,091 votes. The votes for NOTA have been recorded at 493 so far, while the BJP has only managed 318.

TTV Dinakaran, after he reaches Chennai, will directly go to Amma (Jayalalithaa) memorial in Marina Beach.