E-Paper
BJP on rise in Bengal, Assam; upsets for Stalin-Udhyanidhi, Cong gets respite in Kerala: Top points
As of the latest trends, the BJP is leading in Assam, Bengal and Puducherry, Vijay's TVK in Tamil Nadu, and the Congress-led UDF in Kerala.
The assembly elections results on Monday was full of surprises and upsets: a triumph for the BJP in West Bengal where it never ruled, the rise of 'Thalapathy' Vijay in Tamil Nadu and a disappointment for the DMK duo MK Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi.
Early trends on Monday showed the BJP retaining Assam, return of Congress-led UDF in Kerala, a surprising advantage for Vijay's TVK in Tamil Nadu and a lead for the BJP in Bengal.
The counting is underway for assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.
Here are the key takeaways from the election results even as the counting is underway for five assemblies:
Crucial fight in Bengal: The most sought after contest remains in West Bengal where the BJP is leading in 145 out of 294 seats in Bengal. The TMC was trailing behind in 112 seats in one of the biggest upsets in the assembly elections. However, the Mamata-led party is trying to narrow the margin against the BJP with multiple rounds of counting still remaining. The above figures were based on trends as of 11:30 am.
Mamata, Suvendu leading: In Bengal, Mamata is leading in Bhabanipur against Suvendu Adhikari. Dilip Ghosh of the BJP was also leading from Kharagpur Sadar. Suvendu was leading from his second seat, Nandigram.
Surprise, upsets in Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu threw one of the biggest surprises on Monday, with AIADMK, expected to trail at the third spot, emerging as the keystone in the state politics. Vijay's TVK has emerged at an advantage with 170 of the 234 seats. The only question that remains to be answered is: Whether Vijay will script a victory like MG Ramachandran in 1977?
Stalin-Udhyanidhi duo trailing: DMK supremo MK Stalin and his son Udhyanidhi were both trailing from their respective seats, Kolathur and Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, respectively. While Tamil Nadu chief minister was trailing on Kolathur seat in Chennai by over 14,000 votes, his son Udhyanidhi was trailing from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni seat. The trends were based on the latest figures available at 11:30 am.
Kerala sticks to tradition: Kerala has decided to continue on its traditional path of rotational government. While the Congress-led UDF was leading in 76 of the 140 seats, the CPIM-led LDF was leading in 42 seats. The Kerala result was a respite for Congress as it was the only state where the grand old party was winning of the five assemblies. The result also marks the first instance since the 1960s where the Left parties is not in power in any Indian state.
Puducherry goes to NDA: In Puducherry, the NDA alliance was leading in 15 of the 30 seats, while the Congress-DMK alliance was leading in 3 seats. Chief Minister and AINRC leader N Rangasamy was on course to retain his Thattanchavady Assembly constituency, as of the latest trends. The exit poll had also projected the rise of the AINRC-led NDA alliance.
What bypoll results show: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar is heading towards a decisive win in the Baramati assembly bypoll. BJP's Daochier Imchen was leading by 1,599 votes against I Abenjan of the National People's Party (NPP) in Koridang assembly seat in Nagaland. BJP candidate Harshadbhai Parmar took a lead against Congress rival Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan in the Umreth bypoll in Gujarat.
