Chennai:
Dealing yet another blow to arch rival AIADMK, ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Thursday won the Vandavasi and Tiruchendur Assembly seats which went to by-polls on December 19.
In the bitterly fought polls, DMK's Anitha R Radhakrishnan trounced AIADMK's T Narayanan by an impressive margin of over 46,000 votes in Tiruchendur, while his colleague Kamalakannan romped home in Vandavasi by over 38,000 votes against AIADMK's Munusami.
DMK has retained Vandavasi and wrested the Tiruchendur seat from AIADMK. Radhakrishnan, who had represented Tiruchendur as AIADMK MLA, had crossed over to DMK after resigning the seat, necessitating the bye-election.
DMK's triumph marks a complete success for the party this year which it started on a winning note, humbling AIADMK in the Tirumangalam by-polls, followed by an impressive performance in the May Lok Sabha polls and bagging five seats with its ally Congress in the August bye-elections.
In Lok Sabha elections, the DMK-led alliance had won 28 of the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, dashing high hopes of the AIADMK-front.
Elated over today's victory, DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said: "People voted for our party due to our government's achievements and the importance we accord in solving their problems."
The DMK's strength in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly had gone up to 99. Congress is extending support from outside to the Karunanidhi ministry.
DMK cadres celebrated the victory by distributing sweets and bursting crackers at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam here, where they had thronged in good numbers.
AIADMK had boycotted the August 18 by-polls, saying it would not be free and fair, making it a cakewalk for the DMK front.
Today's poll outcome comes as another jolt to Jayalalithaa who is yet to recover from the drubbing her party received in the earlier elections and had hoped to make a morale-boosting comeback. She had actively campaigned for the by-polls.