SATRAPS TRIP

With West Bengal, the BJP now has complete dominance of the east. But the results of the 2026 assembly elections will have far-reaching implications in other states and for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. And, there are lessons to be learnt, especially for the opposition and the regional parties

- PRATUL SHARMA

On the morning of May 4, the first leads did not appear extraordinary. Counting centres across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry reported the usual early volatility. Postal ballots distorted trends. Party spokespersons and analysts remained cautious as margins fluctuated. By noon, the caution had thinned and then evaporated. It was no longer suspense, but the realisation that something larger had unfolded.

The political earthquake that followed brought down the stalwarts of Indian politics in three states simultaneously, signalling a generational shift whose tremors will be felt for years. In scale and surprise, the results surpassed most exit polls. If these three states were countries, the changes would recall the regime-altering upheavals that have swept India's neighbourhood-Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal-in the last two years.

The BJP won 207 seats in West Bengal, ending 15 years of Mamata Banerjee's rule. She had a humiliating defeat in her constituency, Bhabanipur. In Tamil Nadu, actor C. Joseph Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won 108 seats in its maiden contest, destroying the DMK and sending outgoing chief minister M.K. Stalin out of both power and Kolathur, his constituency. In Kerala, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) recorded one of its worst performances in living memory-13 of its 20 ministers lost their seats, ending Pinarayi Vijayan's tenure and ensuring that, for the first time in five decades, there was no left government in any Indian state.

Even as the mighty fell elsewhere, Assam told a different story. Himanta Biswa Sarma helped the National Democratic Alliance win 102 seats for the first time in the state's history, handing the BJP a historic third consecutive term. In Puducherry, N. Rangaswamy's All India N.R.