Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has won the RK Nagar by-election with a huge margin of 1.51 lakh votes. Her vote tally was 1.6 lakh votes. She defeated CPI candidate C Mahendran.

This thumping victory is going to be the first step towards mid-term elections in the state. The indications were clear in Jayalalithaa’s statement. She thanked voters and party workers and termed her victory as precursor to assembly polls.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah has congratulated Jayalalithaa on her victory.

A record 74.4 per cent turnout of voters marked the by-election. The election commission had ordered re-poll in one of the booths in the constituency after a poll panel observer reported that the presiding officer allowed some voters “not duly enrolled in the electoral roll”. Turnout in the re-poll was 85.54 per cent.

Jayalalithaa had secured all the 16 postal votes and 17 rounds of counting had been carried out. Amma’s win has sent the AIADMK cadres and supporters into a celebratory mode. Some workers were seen distributing sweets and dancing near her Poes garden residence in Chennai.

The by-election was necessitated by AIADMK’s P Vetrivel vacating the seat in May to enable Jayalalithaa to seek re-election post her acquittal by the Karnataka high court in a graft case.