RK Nagar By-Election Result 2017 LIVE: TTV Dinakaran Wins Jayalalithaa's Seat, Stakes Claim to Legacy

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.

LEADS | After the third round, TTV Dinakaran is leading with 15,868 votes in RK Nagar by-election, followed by AIADMK's Madhusudhanan who has 7,033 votes and DMK's Maruthu Ganesh, who has 3,750 votes.

Visuals of AIADMK agents creating a ruckus inside the counting center and throwing a chair:

#EXCLUSIVE - AIADMK supporters attack EC officials. Paramilitary forces brought in.#RkNagarByPoll

LIVE: https://t.co/r2Zqa4JZMP pic.twitter.com/6ZyJpy5fl3

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 24, 2017

#LIKABALI: BJP leader Kiren Rijiju has congratulated his party members for winning the Likabali by-election in Arunachal Pradesh:

Congratulations to @BJP4India ! The MLA bye-election of Likabali Assembly Constituency in Arunachal Pradesh is won by BJP. Pakke-Kesang Assembly counting is still going on.

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 24, 2017

"The EPS-OPS government will fall in three months," says TTV Dinakaran, while addressing the media at Madurai airport. He added that the RK Nagar elections result reflects the mindset of the Tamil Nadu people, who want to see him take over Jayalalithaa's seat and her legacy. His supporters cheer him as 'RK Nagar MLA TTV Dinakaran'. 

#SABANG: LEADS | The Trinamool Congress is leading in the Sabang Assembly seat by-election in West Bengal with 54,714 votes. The CPI(M) is trailing at the second spot with 30,023 votes. The BJP is trailing with 21,629 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.