The returns are in and the Prince of Smiles (“Punnagai
Mannan”) has reason to laugh louder and longer than all the other contestants
in the R. K. Nagar by-election caused by the death of former chief minister J.
Jayalalithaa. T. T. V. Dinakaran’s resounding victory is a hammer blow at the
AIADMK, perhaps the final nail in its coffin. Now all that remains is for the
zombie to be interred. In normal circumstances one victory or defeat makes
little difference and would soon be shrugged o
