Kolkata/Chennai: Extending its saffron brushstroke in north and east India, the BJP was Monday set for a decisive win over the TMC in long elusive West Bengal and headed for another term in Assam while actor-politician Vijay’s TVK made a stunning debut in Tamil Nadu as the largest single party in terms of seats won or led.
As votes were counted for assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, Election Commission trends showed a wipeout of the Left and a solitary win for the Congress that has been battling diminishing electoral returns. That silver lining for the opposition party came from Kerala where the Congress-led UDF won or was leading in 101 of the 140 Assembly seats while the CPM-led ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) was ahead in just under 40 constituencies.
The cynosure of Election 2026, however, was West Bengal, the eastern state where the Trinamool Congress was eyeing a fourth straight term in its only bastion.
“The Lotus blooms in West Bengal! The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever. People’s power has prevailed and BJP’s politics of good governance has triumphed,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.
“I bow to each and every person of West Bengal. The people have given a spectacular mandate to BJP and I assure them that our Party will do everything possible to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of the people of West Bengal. We will provide a Government that ensures opportunity and dignity to all sections of society,” he said ahead of a grand celebration being planned at the party’s headquarters in Delhi.
As counting progressed, power for the TMC seemed to be pulling away – further and further. The state’s political landscape was changing with the BJP, its campaign spearheaded by Amit Shah with Modi as its lodestar, pushing ahead in border, tribal and industrial regions, while the TMC held ground in parts of Kolkata and select rural strongholds.
According to the Election Commission, the BJP won or was ahead in 195 of the 294 seats, well ahead of the magic number of 147, power in the state finally within its grasp. The Trinamool Congress tally was 90.
The writing may be on the wall, said pollsters. If the trends hold out, it could be all but over for the tough talking Mamata Banerjee and another victory for Brand Modi.
A defiant Banerjee disagreed.
“A false narrative is being spread,” she alleged in a video message.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of “not declaring results or leads” in areas where the TMC was ahead.
“This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading,” she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
“In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies,” she claimed.
“I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon the counting centres,” Banerjee said.
It was a volatile election campaign with issues of SIR, electoral rigging and polarisation dominating the discourse.
More than 2.5 lakh personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), along with state police, were deployed with the TMC and BJP engaging in a showdown outside several strongrooms, where EVMs were stored in the run-up to the counting.
“The BJP will form the government,” said a confident Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari as his party seemed poised for a historic breakthrough in the city.
In Assam, where the election was a hot-headed affair too, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma led the BJP to another straight victory with leads in 81 of the 126 seats, leaving the Congress far behind at 19.
Congress state unit president Gaurav Gogoi faced his first electoral defeat in Jorhat.
West Bengal was one headline of Election 2026, the other was superstar Vijay, who defied the odds and the taint of a stampede during his rally in September 2025 in which 41 people were killed. That was clearly in the past as his party broke bipolar Dravidian politics and was poised to become the largest single party in Tamil Nadu with wins and leads in 109 of the state’s 234 seats.
The ruling DMK that had started the morning at number three position was at 61 and the AIADMK at 44.
Chief Minister M K Stalin was trailing in Kolathur by 8,284 seats. According to Election Commission data, 15 other ministers were also lagging behind.
The choice, it appeared, was clear. Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar could well join the pantheon of MGR and Jayalalithaa as the stars who made it big in the political firmament.
The star of hits such as “Mersal” and “Leo” went into the campaign with a list of lofty poll promises, including 8 gm gold for marriage, worth about Rs 1.12 lakh. Vijay’s assurances in the party manifesto included Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women below 60 years of age, 8 gm gold for marriage, and six free cooking gas cylinders a year per family.
In Kerala, Sunny Joseph, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief, said the numbers indicated a pro-UDF trend in the state and expressed confidence that the UDF would reach the 100-seat mark in the 140-strong assembly.
With a major win in its pocket, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Wayanad MP thanked the people of the state for their overwhelming support.
“To all my brothers and sisters in Keralam, thank you for your faith and for your overwhelming support. The trust you have placed in us will be the UDF’s guiding force as we work hard towards building a better future for each one of you,” she said.
In Puducherry, the All India NR Congress had won or was ahead in 11 of the 30 seats. The DMK stood at five and the BJP at four. The TVK made its presence felt with three.
