A rising rival breaks through, but Congress wins again
What happened
Congress won again in Madras State's third election, as a new rival broke through for the first time.
Indian National Congress won 139 of the 206 seats.
Its nearest rival was Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, with 50 seats — a distant second, but a strong debut.
About 46.1% of the vote — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — went to INC.
What changed
A new regional party broke into serious seat contention for the first time this election.
DMK, SWA, and FB all won seats in the state for the first time.
This extended Congress's run in the state to 3 elections in a row.
Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — also jumped to 70.7%, the highest share the state had recorded up to that point.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from that election stand out.
Thiagarayanagar, Madras had the largest electorate that year, with 1,28,854 registered voters, and also saw the most crowded contest, 8 candidates in all.
The closest race was Rasipuram, Madras, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 70 votes.
The widest win was in Kanyakumari, Madras, where the winner finished 63.5% ahead of the runner-up.
The backdrop
Congress's government in the state continued through this result too.