The votes are cast. The ballots are sealed. And at 8 AM this Monday morning, counting begins across five states and one union territory —West Bengal,Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Assam, andPuducherry— to decide who governs them next. For Mamata Banerjee, this is possibly the most consequential morning of her fifteen years in power. Most exit polls have projected the BJP closing in on a West Bengal majority — and while she has survived that prediction before, the ground has shifted in ways that make this verdict different from every one before it.

For MK Stalin, the threat is not just from the AIADMK — it is from Thalapathy Vijay, a film star who launched a party - TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) two years ago, has never held office a day in his life, and yet polls as Tamil Nadu's most preferred Chief Minister.

For Pinarayi Vijayan, the stakes extend beyond Kerala — if the Congress-led UDF wins as exit polls project, the Left loses its last state government in India, a reckoning the party has not faced since the 1960s.

For Himanta Biswa Sarma, this Monday is the one morning where the count is expected to confirm what the campaigns already suggested – a third consecutive term, a hattrick that cements his position as one of the BJP's most formidable regional leaders.

And in Puducherry, incumbent Chief Minister N. Rangasamy is expected to retain power in the 30-member assembly — the one result on today's board where exit polls have left the least room for surprise.

Four Chief Ministers. One Union Territory. Four very different mornings. One counting day - May 4.

Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry voted on April 9. Tamil Nadu on April 23. West Bengal in two phases — April 23 and April 29 — recording the highest turnout in the state's history, with Phase 1 at 93.19 per cent and Phase 2 at 89.99 per cent, according to Election Commission of India data.

The poll of polls gives the BJP 158 seats and TMC 130 in West Bengal's 294-member assembly, where 148 is the majority mark.

In Tamil Nadu's 234-member assembly, DMK gets 112-129. In Kerala's 140-member assembly, UDF gets 76, LDF 60, BJP 04. In Assam's 126-member assembly, NDA gets 92. In Puducherry's 30-member assembly, NDA leads at 20 seats.

One number to hold before any projection is treated as settled: in 2021, the poll of polls gave BJP a 35-seat edge in West Bengal. TMC won by 136.

Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now