Katpadi King Durai Murugan has a close shave in a seat he has held since 1996

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has swept the Tamil Nadu assembly election and reclaimed power in the southern state after spending a decade as the chief opposition party.

However, the celebration may be slightly tempered due to S Durai Murugan's struggle in Katpadi. The party’s ‘unopposed’ General Secretary since September 2020, a close confidant of both the Late K Karunanidhi as well as the current party chief, MK Stalin, has never lost an assembly election from his home constituency of Katpadi since 1996. This time, too, he may have won but an embarrassing margin of 746 votes.

One of DMK’s most-experienced leaders, the 83-year old Durai Murugan who has been with the DMK since 1954, has held the Katpadi seat for the party for the last five terms.

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