Independent candidate TTV Dhinakaran won a crucial bypoll in Chennai's Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (RK Nagar), the constituency where J Jayalalithaa won her last two elections.

Dhinakaran crushed the AIADMK, which is led by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam, and the DMK. His margin of victory - in tens of thousands of votes - will embarrass AIADMK presidium chairman Madhusudhanan and the DMK's Marudhu Ganesh

There was much at stake in the RK Nagar by-election: a legacy, prestige, political momentum, and of course, bragging rights. Dhinakaran will claim all of it.

The RK Nagar bypoll result, among the most-awaited of the year, should have been out as early as April. But the Election Commission cancelled it after uncovering evidence of corruption and bribery. Round Two seems to be been no different, as an India Today TV investigation found out.

Here are the highlights on TTV's famous win in RK Nagar.

RK NAGAR BY-ELECTION RESULT: THE LATEST | WATCH LIVE TV

7.08 PM: Floor test will reveal the strength of sleeper cells, says Dinakaran.

6: 56 PM: Defeat in RK Nagar is not a loss for the DMK, but a "Himalayan loss" for the Election Commission, tweets MK Stalin. Everyone should asks themselves whether giving out cash helps democracy, he adds.

6:46 PM: TTV Dhinakaran now has an official letter from the returning officer, which confirms his election as MLA. He told reporters he would fight to get the AIADMK's two leaves symbol. He warned police to behave properly (he believes they sided with the ruling party). And he told India Today he would speak to us tomorrow.

6:21 PM: You can read our full report on Dhinakaran's win here.

5:17 PM: We're calling it now. TTV Dhinakaran is the new MLA from RK Nagar, J Jayalalithaa's constituency. The AIADMK headquarters in Chennai's Royapettah is deserted. Dhinakaran has pulled off a famous upset.

5.04 PM: The AIADMK headquarters in Chennai's Royapettah is deserted. With over 86,000 votes after eighteen rounds of counting, TTV Dhinakaran is headed for a famous upset. But it has seemed that way all day long. Meanwhile, security was beefed up outside the counting station.

#RKNagarByPollresult: @TTVDhinakaran successor of Jayalalithaa in RK Nagar. #RKNagar gets new MLA. #TTVDhinakaran Wins with a lead of over 40k votes. - Akshaya Nath (@Akshayanath) December 24, 2017

4:23 PM: Traffic was temporarily blocked near one counting station after two factions began fighting. Police were clearing the space. 15 rounds over: TTV Dhinakaran with 72,413 votes, AIADMK 38,966, and DMK 20,388.

4.03 PM: TREND | Thirteen rounds of counting are over. TTV Dhinakaran has 68,392 votes, the AIADMK 36,217, and the DMK 18,924.

3:08 PM: TREND | After Round 11 of counting, it's 54,315 for TTV, 27,937 for AIADMK, and 14,481 for DMK. Dhinakaran has reached his Chennai after a pit-stop at...guess where? Yes, the Jayalalithaa memorial.

Official EC trends: TTV with 48,808, AIADMK's Madhusudhanan gets 25,567, DMK's Marudhu Ganesh with 13,015.

Photo: Akshaya Nath Photo: Akshaya Nath

14:10 PM: TREND | TTV Dhinakaran's lead has narrowed, but not by much. After 8 rounds of counting, he has 39,548 votes. The AIADMK's Madhusudhanan has 19,525, and the DMK has 10,292. The BJP's Karu Nagarajan has said the RK Nagar bypoll wasn't a democratic election. "All is money," he said. Read more here.

13:34 PM: The man of the moment has reached Chennai, and he clearly thinks this election is done and dusted (It isn't: tens of thousands of RK Nagar voters haven't yet been accounted for). He claims he has 'Amma's' Jayalalithaa's wishes, and that all AIADMK workers are with him. Trends show that TTV Dhinakaran now has 29,255 votes, and the AIADMK 15,184. The DMK is yet to hit the 10,000 mark.

12.36 PM: TREND | And the lead just grows and grows. TTV Dhinakaran has 24,132 votes, AIADMK 13,057, and DMK 6,606. "This (RK Nagar) is Amma's constituency. They have decided who should be Amma's successor. This a successor that the people have chosen," Dhinakaran said earlier in Madurai. Will he be proved right?

11.25 AM: TREND | TTV Dhinakaran now had 15,868 votes. AIADMK's Madhusudhanan has 7,033 and DMK has 3,750. Right now, it looks bad for Chief Minister E Palaniswami. The Election Commission's official trends also show Dhinakaran in the lead. The RK Nagar bypoll is beginning to look like a one-man show.

Official EC trends: TTV Dhinakaran leads with 5447 votes, AIADMKs E. Madhusudhanan 2512 votes and DMK's N. Marudhu Ganesh 1367 votes at the end of counting round 3 #RKNagarByPoll - ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2017

10.55 AM: TTV Dhinakaran looked amused as he spoke to reporters, while surrounded by happy supporters. Already, he appears to think he has won! The news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai quotes him: "I thank 1.5 workers and the people for victory in the RK Nagar election."

He says only the twin-leaves symbol is with the ruling AIADMK. The people and cadre, he claims, are with him. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, who is from Tamil Nadu, seems to think Dhinakaran has won, too.

Dinakaran seems to have won the R K Nagar election caused by JJ death. I expect to see the two ADMK factions now to unite for 2019 LS poll - Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) December 24, 2017

10:15 AM: TREND | TTV Dhinakaran now has 10,421 votes. That's more than 5,000 votes more than the AIADMK, which is in second place with 4,521 votes. The DMK only has 2,383. All the talk of the effect of the 2G spectrum verdict, which went in the DMK's favour, seems rather premature now! TTV's men have brought out the fireworks, and we've learned that the AIADMK headquarters is empty!

Chennai: Supporters of TTV Dhinakaran celebrate, burst crackers outside his residence as official trends indicate his lead #RKNagarByPoll pic.twitter.com/qNGVnNj0Wd - ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2017

9:40 AM: TREND | There's now a gap of over 4,000 votes between Dhinakaran and the two major parties - the DMK and the AIADMK. Dhinakaran has 7276 votes, the AIADMK 2738, and the DMK, 1182. All others, including the BJP, have polled just 258 votes. Meanwhile, observers from the Dhinakaran camp and the AIADMK clashed at the Queen Mary's counting centre. Counting temporarily stopped (It has now begun again). TTV supporters allege they were beaten, and that an EVM was destroyed. Learn more here.

9:02 AM: TREND | TTV Dhinakaran now has a lead of over 2,000 votes. The AIADMK must be beginning to sweat. Dhinakaran has 5399 votes, the ruling party 2737, and the DMK 1181. But it's still early days: RK Nagar is a constituency with over 2 lakh voters, and the turnout on Thursday was 77.68 per cent (1.76 lakh voters), according to a Times of India report.

8:40 AM: TREND | Dhinakaran has pulled even further ahead. He has 1891 votes, while the AIADMK has 646, and the DMK, 360. Meanwhile, AIADMK leaders, inclduing Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam, are at the MGR memorial. They're paying tributes to their founder on his death anniversary.

#Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi K Palanisamy, Deputy CM O Panneerselvam pay tributes to late AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran at his Marina Beach memorial pic.twitter.com/Q75NeOsMV0 - ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2017

8:33 AM: TREND | Early lead for TTV Dhinarakan. The independent, who was once expelled from party by Jayalalithaa (and was later appointed the party's deputy general secretary, after Jayalalithaa's death), has 412 votes. The AIADMK has 257, and the DMK 92.

8:28 AM: There was just one postal vote, and that went to the DMK.

8:00 AM: Counting of votes has begun. If the AIADMK ends up winning this, they will have done so on the death anniversary of MG Ramachandran, the party's founder and Jayalalithaa's political mentor. The pressure is on the ruling party to defend Jayalalithaa's home turf. Meanwhile, the BJP's candidate, Karu Nagarajan, complained of his competitors' corruption.

Apart from BJP other parties that contested used corrupt practices and distributed money in a big way: Karu Nagarajan, BJP candidate from #RKNagar outside a vote counting center in #Chennai pic.twitter.com/4oWQyiKruz

WATCH | TTV Dhinakaran wins crucial RK Nagar bypoll by huge margin