New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party wrested control of West Bengal from the Trinamool Congress, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front defeated the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala.
The surprise result of the Assembly elections to four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry came from Tamil Nadu, where actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) made a stunning debut. It emerged as the single largest party and led to the ouster of the DMK from power.
The BJP had more to cheer about as it returned to power for the third time in Assam. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising AINRC, BJP and AIADMK, also managed to retain power in Puducherry.
The lotus finally bloomed in West Bengal as the Bharatiya Janata Party realised its longstanding dream of ousting the Trinamool Congress from power by winning a complete majority in the 294-member Assembly. The BJP had won only 77 seats in 2021, while the TMC had bagged 215.
Multiple factors weighed in the BJP’s favour as it inched closer to the two-thirds majority mark this time while reducing the TMC tally to less than 100 seats. Though BJP leaders denied it, the Special Intensive Revision, which led to the deletion of nearly 27 lakh votes, could have played a role.
There were around 188 constituencies in which over 5,000 votes were deleted, and many of these went to the BJP. The deployment of a large number of Central Armed Police Force personnel also led to an enabling atmosphere in which over 92% voting was recorded.
On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee faced anti-incumbency, corruption charges, allegations of appeasement, poor law and order conditions and rising crimes against women.
Though she hit back at the BJP, calling it “bahiragato” (outsiders), there was much more at stake, especially as the saffron party focused its campaign on illegal immigrants and security issues. Banerjee herself was locked in a tough contest with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikary in Bhabanipur.
There was a change of guard in Kerala as the Congress-led UDF won a landslide majority by securing over 90 seats in the 140-member House. In 2021, the alliance had won only 40 seats. The LDF, which had won 92 seats in 2021, could not match up this time.
However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan managed to win from his Dharmadam seat by a margin of 85,614 votes. In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the Vijay effect played out. Chief Minister M K Stalin lost from the Kolathur Assembly seat to VS Babu of the TVK by 8,284 votes. The TVK emerged as a strong party in urban areas.
It used Dravidian grammar, the legacy of Periyar and the language of the DMK to reach out to the masses. Some, including Congress spokesperson Wing Commander (Retd.) Anuma Acharya, on Monday, equated its sharp rise to that of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, which had led to the ouster of the 15-year Congress government.
Though the TVK had also fielded candidates in Puducherry, it could not alter the balance of power. The NDA, comprising AINRC, BJP, AIADMK and LJK, was up against the INDIA bloc comprising the Congress, DMK and the VCK. The NDA won a majority of the seats.
Chief Minister and All India NR Congress leader C N Rangasamy also won from the Thattanchavady seat by defeating E Vinayagam of Nayam Makkal Katchi, an ally of the TVK, by 4,441 votes. In Assam, where the BJP fought the elections primarily on the issue of the security of citizens and illegal immigrants, the result mirrored the outcome in West Bengal.
The campaign appeared to work as the BJP improved its tally from 60 in the 2021 polls to nearly 100 seats. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma won his sixth consecutive election from Jalukbari by a margin of 89,562 votes.
He later posted on X, “Hat-trick with a century,” alluding to the BJP’s wins in the state and the rise in its seats. On the other hand, Congress MP and state president Gaurav Gogoi lost to Hitendranath Goswami of the BJP from Jorhat by 23,182 votes.
