Chennai: TVK’s sweep of 14 of the city’s 16 core constituencies was by margins much larger than in the previous election. The narrowest victory margin this time was about 7,000 votes, secured by DMK’s Udhayanidhi Stalin in Chepauk-Triplicane. In 2021, the lowest margin was 137 votes by which DMK won T Nagar. The next lowest was the Congress win in Velachery by 4,352 votes. In 2016, seven constituencies — Perambur, Anna Nagar, Virugambakkam, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, T Nagar, Harbour and Thiruvottiyur — recorded margins below 5,000.This time M K Stalin lost Kolathur by 8,795 votes, which was the next lowest margin after his son’s victory. AIADMK candidates, were pushed to third place in 11 constituencies, with party candidates including D Jayakumar losing deposits in seven. AIADMK allies — PMK, BJP and AMMK — finished third in three constituencies, with PMK and AMMK forfeiting deposits.In Perambur, TVK leader C Joseph Vijay recorded the highest vote tally, polling 1,20,365 votes and defeating the DMK’s R D Sekar by 53,715 votes. His party colleague N Marie Wilson polled 97,800 votes in R K Nagar, winning by 49,668 votes. Among the five constituencies with the highest victory margins, candidates from DMK or AIADMK allies featured in four. R K Nagar, which recorded the second-highest margin, was the only constituency where both the DMK and AIADMK fielded their own candidates
