How Jayalalithaa beat the exit polls?

Jayalalithaa proved everyone wrong. She beat anti incumbency and also the exit polls to create history and win Tamil Nadu convincingly. There are several factors that could have led to this resounding win by Jayalalithaa who is referred to as Amma by her followers.

During her rallies which were around 22 in number, she never gave out long drawn speeches. Most of her speeches did not exceed 40 minutes and she focused only on two issues- the government's achievements and making fun of the DMK.

What helped Jayalalithaa?

Many would say that the social welfare schemes particularly for the women helped her win the election. The AIDMK had explained after the voting that the high number of women voters would be advantageous to them and they were right.

Jayalalithaa through her previous tenure ensured that the women and children benefitted. Some of the schemes include a marriage assistance, the free laptop distribution scheme amounting to Rs 1,100 crore and also the distribution of mixers and fans to 1.85 crore women.

Some would also note that the presence of OBCs in her cabinet also helped to a large extent. The other factor that could have worked in the favour of Jayalalithaa was the split of the votes.

Pollsters say that had it been a two way fight, things could have been different. However the PWF-TMC alliance led by Vijaykanth may have split the DMK vote.