RK Nagar results: BJP losing to NOTA becomes butt of jokes on social media

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JKR Staff
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In a significant development, TTV Dhinakaran, the nephew of V Sasikala, won the RK Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu on Sunday by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 40,000 votes.

The victory signalled the mood of the voters in favour of Sasikala faction, which was sidelined by the ruling AIADMK after the jailing of Sasikala in corruption charges.

The by-poll here had become a prestige battle after the two warring factions of the AIADMK came together to alienate Sasikala and Dhinakaran. Dhinakaran had unsuccessfully staked his claim for the AIADMK party symbol of two leaves, since the Election Commission awarded that to the AIADMK faction led by the Chief Minister E Palaniswami and his deputy Panneerselvam.

Against Dhinakaran, the ruling AIADMK had fielded veteran Mathusudhanan, who had represented this seat before J Jayalalithaa won from here twice. Mathusudhanan enjoys considerable support of the large Telugu population.

The AIADMK had also raised the issue of Jayalalithaa’s death during the campaign alleging foul play by Sasikala. However, just two days before the poll, a video of the late Tamil Nadu chief minister being treated at the hospital had surfaced.

As the counting progressed, everybody’s attention shifted from Dhinakaran, whose victory was certain after just few rounds of counting, to the BJP’s performance. BJP candidate securing less than even the NOTA (None Of The Above) option became a butt of social media joke. The BJP’s abysmal performance in the southern Indian state assumed significance in light of the party’s claim that it had enrolled over 50 lakh members through its missed call drive.

In the end, NOTA received 2,203 votes, while the BJP secured 1236 votes.

Here are some of the reactions;

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