In Tamil Nadu, BJP ranks third in vote share

Chennai, May 16 (IANS) Securing around five percent vote share in Tamil Nadu, the BJP ranks third next only to ruling AIADMK (44 percent) and DMK (23 percent) and even ahead of its alliance partners.

Incidentally it is only BJP and PMK that have won a seat each in the polls while 37 of the state's 39 Lik Sabha constituencies were gobbled up by Jayalalithaa's AIADMK.

Prior to the polls, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders told IANS that their six-party alliance, which also comprised DMDK, PMK, MDMK and two others, would win at least eight seats.

Due to a goof-up in filing the nomination forms by a BJP candidate, the alliance was able to field candidates only in 38 seats.

Interestingly going by the votes polled, the BJP-led front has come runner up in five constituencies apart from winning two.

On the other hand, the DMDK which had secured 10 percent vote share in 2009 general elections saw its vote share go down to 5.2 percent.

The combined vote share of the BJP-led alliance partners stand at 18.6 percent which is lower than the 2009 figure of 22 percent.