New Delhi: The contest in Tiruppattur Assembly constituency in Sivaganga district ended with a margin of just one vote, the narrowest ever recorded in Tamil Nadu elections.R. Seenivasa Sethupathy of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) defeated K.R. Periakaruppan, a four-time MLA from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and former minister, after a dramatic counting process that stretched late into the night.Early counting trends had favoured Periakaruppan. After the first of 30 rounds, he led by 902 votes and continued to stay ahead for most of the day. By the end of round 25, he had polled 77,773 votes compared to Sethupathy’s 76,646.The momentum shifted only in the 26th round, when Sethupathy edged ahead by 199 votes. His lead widened in the subsequent rounds, reaching 606 votes in round 27, 691 in round 28, 788 in round 29 and 819 by the end of round 30. At that point, Sethupathy had secured 83,010 votes while Periakaruppan stood at 82,191, The New Indian Express reported.Also read: Eleven Quick Takeaways From the Assembly Election ResultsInterestingly, Sethupathy received 365 postal votes, while Periakaruppan secured 1,183. When the full tally was completed, Sethupathy had won by a single vote. Officials told media persons that the winner was declared only around 1.15 am after repeated scrutiny of invalid votes following objections from the DMK.The data showed that the gap between the two candidates had fluctuated widely during counting, touching a high of 4,902 votes in round ten, with an average difference of 2,637 votes across rounds.According to the TNIE report, in R Palakurichi, where 2,012 voters boycotted polling over a demand to shift police station limits and voting rights from Tiruppattur to Ponnamaravathi, residents pointed out that the result might have been different had the issue been addressed.The TVK has won 108 out of 234 seats, falling short of the majority mark of 118, while the DMK managed to win only 59.