HAASAN LOSES COIMBATORE SOUTH TO BJP’S VANATHI BY A THIN MARGIN

CHENNAI: Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Sunday lost Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore (South) constituency to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Vanathi Srinivasan by a thin margin of 1,540 votes, in the state assembly elections. The Election Commission declared the result after 26 rounds of counting.

Earlier in the day, the Congress’s Mayura Jayakumar was also leading in this seat but has now been relegated to the third position.

As per official data from the Election Commission of India as of 10 pm, Srinivasan was leading with 45,932 votes, Haasan 45,042 and Jayakumar 39,413.

Haasan, who made his electoral debut with the TN assembly elections, made a surprise move by choosing Coimbatore (south) as his constituency while he was expected to contest from Chennai.

Haasan’s lieutenant and MNM vice-president Dr R Mahendran came third in Coimbatore in 2019 parliamentary elections after the winner CPI(M)’S PR Natarajan -- who was in alliance with the DMK and had the minorities’ support -- while BJP’S CP Radhakrishnan was the runner up. MNM had registered a 16% vote share in the Coimbatore south segment and the only seat where it was leading on May 2.

The assembly polls in Tamil Nadu were held on April 6. The counting of votes began at 8 am on Sunday, with the DMK scoring a considerable lead early in the day. As per Election Commission of India’s data as of 11 pm, DMK won 38 seats and is leading in 95 where the halfway mark to form the government in the 234 assembly is 118. Its main ally, the Congress won two and led in 14 seats. The AIADMK won 16, leading in 53 seats with BJP still showing leads in four.

EXPELLED AIADMK LEADER AND AMMK CHIEF TTV DHINAKARAN WAS TRAILING FROM KOVILPATTI SEAT TILL LATE ON SUNDAY