Vellore Election News: Voting in Vellore was cancelled before the April-May national election
The DMK, which swept the national election in Tamil Nadu earlier this year, won another Lok Sabha seat, Vellore, on Friday. The party's DM Kathir won the Vellore polls against his nearest rival AS Shanmugam of the state's ruling AIADMK by a narrow margin of a little over 8,000 votes.
This win takes the DMK front's tally to 38 of the state's 39 seats. The victory has cemented the DMK's position as the third largest party in the Lok Sabha after the BJP and the Congress.
Voting in Vellore was cancelled before the April-May national election after huge amounts of unaccounted cash allegedly meant to bribe voters were seized during tax raids on a DMK worker.
The DMK won 37 seats when Tamil Nadu voted on April 18.
Check the Vellore election result 2019 here.
Vellore Election Result 2019: Voting in Vellore was held on August 5
Voting in Vellore was held on Monday. As many as 28 candidates contested the polls.
According to the Election Commission, Mr Kathir had polled about 4.85 lakh votes as against Mr Shanmugam's 4.77 lakh votes.
The AIADMK started on a high note in the morning and was mostly leading in see-saw rounds, until the DMK closed the gap.
A win in Vellore would have been some consolation for the AIADMK, which was hoping to retain the seat. For the DMK, it is another boost two years before the state votes in assembly elections due in 2021.
Both Chief Minister E Palaniswami and DMK leader MK Stalin had campaigned extensively in Vellore, which is about three hours from Chennai.
Mr Stalin, in a statement calling the win "exceptional and unparalleled", said: "Victory can be delayed but not denied."
The AIADMK believes Deepalakshmi of Naam Tamilar Katchi, who placed third, cut into its votes.