Jayalalithaa should thank neutral voters for her historic victory in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Voters in key urban centres of Tamil Nadu have solidly backed AIADMK, barring the flood-hit Chennai. If highly industrialised Coimbatore returned eight out of ten AIADMK candidates, the strike rate of AIADMK was also high in Madurai, Trichy and Salem cities, while rural voters in constituencies around these urban centres have given a split verdict or have backed altogether DMK in districts like Kanyakumari.

The one consistent charge made against Jayalalithaa was her inability to activate investments in the state, boost employment, and execute big infra projects. But the results have shown that the charge had little bearing on the outcome.

"DMK has managed to retain its vote bank in these urban pockets and in some places the party has got more votes than previous elections. But it is the neutral voters who ensured that status quo is maintained either by voting for AIADMK or by staying away from polling,'' says People's Union for Civil Liberties state secretary S Balamurugan.

In Madurai, third biggest city in the state, AIADMK had all the city segments except one. In Trichy, which is known for its educational institutions, DMK managed to romp home in one segment, while conceding defeat in other city segments.

"The results show that the anger on DMK among the urban educate class is still there,"' says writer Stalin Rajangam.

Interestingly, smaller towns like Tirunelveli, Palayamkottai, Tuticorin and Virudhunagar have all been won by DMK.