Prabhakaran puts up a spirited fight

If one Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu saw a truly see-saw battle until the last moment, it was Virudhunagar, the new-found “star constituency.”

The constituency — where two-time Congress MP B. Manickam Tagore faced two political novices yet familiar faces: V. Vijaya Prabhakaran (DMDK), son of actor-politician Vijayakant, and actor-cum-producer Radikaa Sarathkumar (BJP) — saw a nail-biting finish.

The electoral fortunes of Mr. Tagore and Mr. Prabhakaran kept swinging throughout the day. Eventually, the former won by 4,379 votes, the lowest margin of victory in this election in Tamil Nadu.

When the candidates were announced, the leaders and functionaries of all constituents of the DMK-led alliance were confident that Mr. Tagore’s election would be a cakewalk. The BJP leaders claimed that the contest was between the Congress and BJP candidates.

However, riding on a sympathy wave in his native constituency after his philanthropist father’s death late last year and the support of the AIADMK, Mr. Vijaya Prabhakaran emerged as a stronger contender, pushing Ms. Sarathkumar to the third slot.

“We left no stones unturned in all the six Assembly segments. With full cooperation from the candidate, the campaign continued in full swing in every nook and corner,” AIADMK leader K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji said. “We sought votes in the name of our leaders, M.G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa, and Vijayakanth,” he added. However, he said., the spirited battle was lost because of the money power of the DMK-led alliance.

Senior DMDK leader Alagarsamy said people responded to their appeal to give the young candidate an opportunity. “We are dejected with the result,” he added.

A Congress leader conceded that they failed to see such a change on the ground during the campaign. “We knew the margin of victory would fall slightly from the figure of the last election but did not imagine that the fight would go right down to the wire,” he added.