TVK’s stunning debut reshapes Tamil Nadu politics; Congress-led UDF wins Kerala
Kolkata/Chennai The BJP on Monday achieved a historic breakthrough in West Bengal, crossing the majority mark and pushing the ruling Trinamool Congress to a distant second, while also retaining Assam for another term. In Tamil Nadu, actor-politician Vijay’s TVK made a stunning debut, emerging as the single largest party.
According to Election Commission trends, the BJP won or was leading in 195 of West Bengal’s 294 seats, well above the halfway mark of 147. The TMC trailed with 90 seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the result, calling it a victory for “politics of good governance.”
“I bow to each and every person of West Bengal. The people have given a spectacular mandate to BJP,” he said on X.
A defiant Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged irregularities, claiming the EC was not declaring leads in areas where her party was ahead. She also accused the poll panel of stopping counting at several locations and demanded that TMC agents not leave counting centres.
In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma led the BJP to a straight victory, with leads in 81 of 126 seats. The Congress trailed at 19. State Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi faced his first electoral defeat in Jorhat.
The other major story of Election 2026 came from Tamil Nadu, where Vijay’s TVK won or was leading in 109 of 234 seats, breaking the bipolar Dravidian politics that had dominated the state for decades.
Chief Minister M K Stalin was trailing in Kolathur by over 8,000 votes, while 15 other DMK ministers were also behind. The ruling DMK stood at 61 seats and the AIADMK at 44.
Vijay, the star of hits like “Mersal” and “Leo”, had campaigned on a list of promises including Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women, 8 gm gold for marriage, and six free cooking gas cylinders per family per year.
In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF won or was leading in 101 of 140 seats, while the CPM-led LDF was ahead in just under 40. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadak thanked the people of Kerala for their “overwhelming support.”
In Puducherry, the All India NR Congress was leading in 11 of 30 seats, the DMK at five, the BJP at four, and the TVK at three.