Following the verdict, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy had demanded Chidambaram's resignation. Kannappan had also sought a recount of votes polled in the constituency, particularly in the Alangudi Assembly segment.

Chidambaram's contention was that the petition filed by Kannappan had certain defects and it should not be entertained by the court.

The case shot into national prominence when Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to the chief election commissioner asking him to appoint Data Entry Operators of integrity and verify their credentials before assigning them to counting of votes for the elections held to the state assembly on April 13.

Chidambaram was declared elected by a margin of 3354 votes. He polled 3,34, 348 votes while Kannappan came a close second by polling 3,30,994 votes.