Chennai, May 19 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J.Jayalalthaa and Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam won the assembly elections but several other prominent party candidates were humbled.
In state capital Chennai, the December 2016 floods have dented the party's chances with ministers like S.Gokula Indira and B.Valarmathi losing from Anna Nagar and Thousand Lights constituencies respectively.
Other prominent losers from the AIADMK side were Power Minister Natham R. Viswanathan and R.Vaithilingam.
On the other hand the DMK had several of its famous faces turning victorious.
Party president M.Karunanidhi has won his 13th assembly election. The 91-year-old former chief minister has never been defeated since 1957.
The other noted DMK personalities who won the elections were: M.K.Stalin (Kolathur), Duraimurugan (Katpadi), E.V.Velu (Thiruvannamalai), K.Ponmudy (Tirukovilur), K.N. Nehru (Trichy) and M.R.K.Panneerselvam (Kurinjipadi).
Although politics and the movie world are well connected in Tamil Nadu, film action heroes have lost out this time around.
The actor-turned-politician leader of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi R. Sarathkumar lost in Tiruchendur constituency against his DMK rival Anitha R. Radhakrishnan.
At Ulundurpettai, another actor-turned-politician and DMDK leader A. Vijaykant came in third polling 26,950 votes and trailing far behind the candidates from AIADMK (63,906 votes) and DMK (57,850 votes).
An exception to the trend, however, was DMK-nominee Vagai Chandrasekar who has played supportive roles in Tamil movies. Chandrasekar won from Velachery constituency in Chennai against his AIADMK rival C. Munusamy.
PMK's chief ministerial candidate and sitting Lok Sabha member Anbumani Ramadoss lost to DMK rival P.N.P. Inbasekaran in Pennagaram constituency.
