The DMK has won the closely fought election in the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency by a slender margin of over 8000 votes. The party candidate Kathir Anand has secured 4,85,340 votes as against the 4,77,199 votes polled by his close contestant, AC Shanmugham of the AIADMK. The Naam Tamilar Party’s Deepalakshmi has scored 26,995 votes.
With this win, the DMK has increased its strength in the
Lower House of Parliament to 24, further reinforcing its position as the second biggest party in the opposition, next only to the Congress. Kathir Anand is the son of the DMK treasurer Durai Murugan.
Election to Vellore on August 5 was necessitated by the rescinding of polls during the General Elections following huge haul of money there in last April.