Chennai: The fledgling Lok Paritran, a party floated by former IITians, has surprised many by making inroads into the vote share of established party candidates like Arcot Veerasamy (DMK) and S Ve Shekar (AIADMK).
Between them, the seven Paritran candidates, who contested from five constituencies in the city, one in Tiruvallur and another in Ramanathapuram district, cumulatively polled more than 34,000 votes.
Party leader Santhanagopal Vasudev, pitted against political heavyweights Shekar and DMK's Napolean in Mylapore garnered 10,000 votes.
Political analysts feel Vasudev played a significant role in weaning away a chunk of Napolean's vote share in this constituency, which could have led to his defeat.
Rajamani, another Lok Paritran candidate fielded in Anna Nagar, polled 12,000 votes contesting against stalwarts like Veerasamy and the powerful MDMK, a party spokesman said.
Another party candidate Elanthirumaran mustered 669 votes contesting against DMK Supremo M Karunanidhi from Chepauk and finished fifth among 20 candidates in the fray.
The Lok Paritran, contesting elections for the very first time, was formed a mere two months ago.
While established parties competed with each other in promising freebies to voters, the Paritran said it stood for good governance, transparency, accessibility, freedom from corruption and proper implementation. "Short term promises are a strict no" was the party's refrain.
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