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N Sathiya Moorthy in Chennai
"It is the best-ever birthday gift I have got in my life," All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa said, minutes after she won the Andipatti assembly bypoll on Sunday afternoon.
It was her 54th birthday and the AIADMK leader had won the bypoll by a record margin of 41,201 votes.
The earlier record, too, stood in AIADMK's name. Jayalalithaa's mentor M G Ramachandran had won the 1984 election from Andipatti by a margin of 32,000 votes, and that too from a hospital bed in the United States!
There's one difference though. Unlike Jayalalithaa, MGR then had the support of the Congress and communist allies. There was also a strong sympathy wave in his favour.
"This time, we have won on our own strength," Jayalalithaa told the reporters who had gathered at her Poes Garden residence.
'Temporary chief minister', as he had called himself, O Panneerselvam was a much-relieved man, as he stood by Jayalalithaa. He was seen wiping tears when she praised him for his dedication, loyalty and responsibility.
