The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : By-election results

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 19, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

By-election results

The results of the by-elections to the Gummidipoondi and Kancheepuram Assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu reflect the maturity of a discerning electorate. The voters have rejected the politics of dynasty and caste. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa should be congratulated for her astute political acumen.

S. Gunasekaran,
Pondicherry

It was heartening to see a high voter turnout in the elections. The Opposition should have the magnanimity to accept defeat with grace. Blaming it on money-power or misuse of official machinery is not becoming of senior political leaders.

K.S. Subbian,
Coimbatore

In the backdrop of the Central election observers' all-out efforts to ensure a free and fair election, the allegations of the DMK and the PMK leaders on the role of money power is not convincing. It is not wise to belittle the verdict of the people. The triumph of the AIADMK against a seven-party alliance is remarkable and should be acknowledged as such.

Clement Eswar,
Pondicherry

It is clear that the intelligent voters of Tamil Nadu resort to different patterns of voting in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls. The victory of the AIADMK in the by-elections cannot be described as an upset.

It was the result of some damage control by the Jayalalithaa Government after the party's electoral debacle in the Lok Sabha polls last year.

N. Jayaram,
Chennai

It was not Ms. Jayalalithaa's impressive ability to face adversity and change the ground situation within months of suffering an electoral rout in the Lok Sabha elections that helped the AIADMK win. Her party won because the by-elections were to the Assembly and not to Parliament. Her real ability will be put to test only in the 2006 Assembly elections.

Adarsh P. Mallya,
Kochi, Kerala

Now that the verdict has gone in favour of the ruling AIADMK, it is trumpeting its victory and terming the elections free and fair. Had it been otherwise, we would have had another round of accusations against even the electronic voting machine and threats of challenging the verdict in court.

B. Gunabalan,
Chennai

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