Jaya storms back to power in landslide victory

Chennai: Scripting a spectacular comeback, AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa on Friday knocked out ruling DMK from power with a landslide victory ensuring an absolute majority on its own in Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

With an exceptional strike rate, AIADMK romped home in 150 of the 160 seats it contested and established an unassailable lead in another three as the party crossed the magical figure of 117 in the 234-member House.

Jayalalithaa, who won from Srirangam by over 41,000 votes, described the verdict as an outpour of people's "anger and resentment" against the DMK government while 87-year old Karunanidhi said he had been given "proper rest".

The crushing defeat saw DMK left with a paltry tally of 23 of the 121 seats it had contested in one of the most dismal shows by the Dravidian party whose ally Congress was decimated winning just five seats of the 63 it fought.

The rout was almost complete as DMK, facing the heat of 2G scam and battling charges of its chief M Karunanidhi's family dominance, lost the cream of its leadership in the hustings.

Only Karunanidhi, who won by an impressive margin of over 50,000 votes from his native Tiruvarur, his son and Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin and Thangam Thennarassu managed to survive the AIADMK juggernaut.

DMK was leading in four constituencies with results of nine more constituencies awaited.

Rising prices, power cut and deteriorating law order also triggered an anti-incumbancy wave that swept AIADMK and its allies to power with more than three fourths majority.

DMDK, which was the last entrant into the AIADMK front, won 31 out of the 41 seats it was alloted and was leading in two others to make it a quantum jump from one seat it had held. The party's founder and actor Vijaykant also won with an impressive margin.

Left parties, part of the AIADMK front, bagged 20 seats, only two less than they contested, in their best ever show even as they lost in West Bengal and Kerala.

The domination of AIADMK, with 60 members in the outgoing assembly, was evident right from southern most district of Kanykumari to Chennai in the north.

DMK's tally dropped from 100 to 23. PMK, another major ally of DMK, was reduced to three from 19 members.

This is the party's second all-time worst showing in the polls, the earlier one being in 1991 when it had won only two seats.