The Assembly elections results on Monday delivered a series of dramatic endings across the country. Across the states, a pattern of voter dissatisfaction with incumbent governments was evident. While West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala saw ruling parties voted out, Assam and Puducherry stood out as exceptions where incumbents retained power.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured alandmark victoryin West Bengal, defeating the All India Trinamool Congress and ending Mamata Banerjee's 15-year tenure in power.
The scale of the win was reflected in results that showed the BJP not only holding on to its strong base in North Bengal but also making inroads into southern districts, including Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself lost her Bhabanipur bastion to the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari.
In Assam, the BJP also retained power for a third consecutive term, increasing its tally from 60 to 82 seats. With allies, it was leading in 97 of the 126 constituencies. The Congress saw its numbers drop, and its state president Gaurav Gogoi lost in Jorhat.
In Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politicianJoseph Vijayled his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), to a strong debut performance, challenging both the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The DMK government led by MK Stalin was defeated, with Stalin losing his Kolathur seat by 8,795 votes. Several of his cabinet colleagues were also trailing, although his son Udhayanidhi Stalin was ahead in Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni.
The TVK was leading or had won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, falling short of the majority mark of 117. This raises the possibility of a hung Assembly, with the party expected to seek support from smaller parties, including the Congress.
Vijay himself was leading in Perambur and Tiruchirappalli (East). His party's performance marks only the third time in India that a political party has come close to power within two years of its formation, after earlier examples in Andhra Pradesh in 1983 and Assam in 1985.
In Kerala, voters brought back the Congress-led United Democratic Front,ending the ruleof the Left Democratic Front led by Pinarayi Vijayan. The UDF secured or was leading in 102 of the 140 seats, while the LDF's tally fell sharply to 35. Vijayan retained his Dharmadam seat, though with a reduced margin, and several ministers in his government were defeated.
The BJP also made limited gains in the state, winning three seats for the first time. Among them was state unit president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who won from Nemom.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
