Bengaluru: The results of the four states and one Union territory were declared yesterday. 

While BJP retained Assam and won Puducherry, TMC won West Bengal while Pinarayi Vijayan won Kerala and AIADMK won Tamil Nadu. 

Actor Kamal Haasan also contested the election on a Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) from Tamil Nadu. While many were of the opinion that he would contest from Chennai, he contested from Coimbatore South. 

And he even lost! 

It was BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan who had the last laugh as she won the elections. 

She said on twitter, “We have won! Thank you Kovai South for your support & blessings. I bow down to my voters, to my leaders, PM @narendramodi ji, HM @AmitShah ji, Nat'l President @JPNadda ji, GS(O) @blsanthosh ji & all @BJP4TamilNadu karyakarta for their hard work & dedication.” 

So what helped the wind blow in her favour? 

 

Vanathi Srinivasan has been a popular figure in Coimbatore mainly for maintaining a distance from identity-based politics, her opponent Kamal Haasan based his entire campaign on anti-Hindu and anti-Hindi narrative, OpIndia notes. 

On the other hand, it should be noted that from terming Hindi as a ‘little child in diapers’ in comparison with older languages of the country to dismissing the existence of the word ‘Hindu‘ before Mughals, Haasan found himself in many such controversies just before the state elections, it adds. 

Vanathi Srinivasan, finally won by 1540 votes. BJP has managed to secure 4 seats in the legislative assembly, in a first in Tamil Nadu.