West Bengal turned saffron, Tamil Nadu entered a new era of electoral politics, Kerala saw the Congress comeback, Assam assured BJP’s hat-trick, and Puducherry
chose continuity, as Assembly election 2026 results unfolded on May 4. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide in Bengal with 206 seats out of a total of 294 (counting held on 293 seats since the Falta election was termed void), while the TMC was restricted to just 81, a complete reversal of results from 2021. Tamil Nadu turned out to be a complete surprise, though exit polls gave some hint, as Joseph Vijay’s TVK emerged as the single largest party in its debut election, exceeding expectations of political analysts (barring a few), and outperforming regional satraps including the DMK and AIADMK. Though Vijay’s party fell short of an absolute majority, there is no doubt that it is not forming the next government in the state, with the support of alliance partners. Some have announced support, and some lined up in queue. In Kerala, the results fell on predicted lines as projected in exit polls. Though the direction of the mandate unfolded as predicted in post-poll projections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) performed way better in terms of number of seats. Kerala results also marked the end of Left party rule, as it was the only state where it was in power but that too has gone. Now, there is no Left government in the country, a political camp that once ruled Bengal for decades. Assam results also turned out exactly as predicted in the exit polls, as the BJP-led NDA stamped its victory ‘hat-trick’ with a century - if it has to be said in the words of Himanta Biswa Sarma - winning a total of 102 seats, while restricting the Congress to just 21 seats. Puducherry stayed with where it began - meaning, another term for the All India NR Congress-BJP led government under the leadership of incumbent Chief Minister N Rangasamy. The opposition led by the Congress was restricted to just 9 seats. As the May 4 mandate is all out and clear, let’s take a look at the big winners and losers in this round of Assembly elections.
Bhabanipur | Suvendu’s Biggest Victory Turns Mamata's Biggest Defeat
In a result laden with symbolism, political theatre and historical resonance, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC amid a sweeping saffron surge across West Bengal.
The margin -- 15,105 votes after all 20 rounds of counting -- told only part of the story. The real narrative lay in the arc of the contest: a commanding early lead for Banerjee, a steady erosion, and a late surge by Adhikari that mirrored, almost frame by frame, the dramatic script of Nandigram in 2021.
If Nandigram marked the rupture of a mentor-protege relationship and the first electoral defeat of Banerjee in decades, Bhabanipur has now cemented Adhikari’s emergence as the BJP’s principal challenger in Bengal-- and the man who can beat her on both hostile and home turf.
“This is a historic victory… a victory of Hindutva, a victory of Bengal, a victory of Modiji,” Adhikari said, holding his winning certificate outside the Sakhawat Memorial School counting centre, invoking both ideological and political triumph.
Banerjee, who had taken an early lead of over 17,000 votes by the seventh round, watched her advantage shrink gradually as counting progressed. By the 14th round, her lead had fallen below 4,000, before Adhikari overtook her in the closing stages and steadily widened the gap.
The chief minister, present at the counting centre through the day, alleged irregularities as trends turned against her.
“Do you think this is a victory? It is an immoral victory. More than 100 seats have been looted. The Election Commission is the BJP’s commission,” she said, also claiming that one of her counting agents was forced out and that she was “pushed and berated” inside the
centre.
There was no immediate response from the Election Commission.
Nandigram | Suvendu Retains His Charm
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who claimed that he would unseat Mamata from Bhabanipur just like he did it in Nandigram in 2021 - marked his second consecutive victory in the latter constituency, this time with an increased margin of 9,665 votes, while receiving an overall 1,27,301 votes. In 2026, Suvendu defeated TMC’s Pabitra Kar, who bagged a total of 1,17,636 votes.
TVK Chief Joseph Vijay - Stuns Tami Nadu, DMK, AIADMK
Tamil Nadu saw a stunner debut by actor-politician Vijay's TVK with 107 wins and leads out of 234 seats to emerge as the single-largest party, leaving no chance for DMK to rebound and also smashing hopes of AIADMK.
Joseph Vijay won from Perambur constituency by defeating his DMK rival RD Shekar by 53,715 votes. According to Election Commission data, Vijay secured 1,20,365 votes and Shekar - 66,650 votes.
He also clinched a decisive victory in Tiruchirapalli East as well with 91,381 votes, winning by a margin of 27,416 votes.
CM MK Stalin Loses Both - Tamil Nadu And Kolathur
For incumbent Chief Minister MK Stalin, a shock of losing Tamil Nadu was already too much when he faced another defeat, losing his own election from Kolathur, against TVK’s VS Babu, who had switched to Vijay’s party, recently.
Babu delivered a shocking defeat to Stalin and attributed the success to "Thanga Thalapathi" Vijay - his party founder.
Stalin, who took up the reins as Chief Minister in 2021, faced his first electoral defeat in 35 years. He had become MLA in 1989 and from then on Stalin had served as legislator for seven terms winning from Thousand Lights Assembly constituency four times and from Kolathur for three consecutive terms.
Babu, a former DMK legislator who joined Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam on February 7, 2026, said it was TVK chief and "Thanga Thalapathi" Vijay who had won.
"The victory for all TVK candidates really meant a win for Vijay," he told reporters shortly after he won from Chennai's Kolathur constituency.
He defeated Stalin by a margin of 8,795 votes. He polled 82,997 votes while Stalin garnered 74,202 votes, and AIADMK's P Santhana Krishnan got 18,430 votes, according to the Election Commission.
Ratna Debnath, Mother of RG Kar Case Victim, Emerge Victorious
Ratna Debnath, a political greenhorn, defeated the Trinamool Congress' Tirthankar Ghosh by 28,836 votes, with 87,977 electors of the Panihati assembly segment voting in her favour.
The TMC candidate in the seat is the son of incumbent MLA Nirmal Ghosh, who was accused of unsuccessfully trying to hastily cremate the body of the young R G Kar medic, who was raped and murdered in the hospital on the night of August 9 in 2024.
Debnath debuted in politics with the BJP fielding her in the Assembly polls. She is a resident of the Pansila area of Sodpur, which falls under the Panihati Assembly segment she is contesting.
In every poll meeting, Debnath had been flagging the issue of women's safety and security in the state and underscored her commitment to ensuring that not a single woman faces atrocities any more.
Himanta Biswa Sarma | Victory Turns More Victorious
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma won the Jalukbari constituency for the sixth consecutive term, defeating Congress candidate Bidisha Neog by 89,434 votes.
Sarma's winning margin was 1,01,000 votes in 2021 when he became the chief minister of the state for the first time.
Sarma, who was leading from the first round, polled 1,27,151 votes while Neog secured 37,717 at the end of the 13th round of counting. He had failed to win his first poll from the Jalukbari constituency in 1996, but his winning streak continued from 2001.
Sarma’s victory margin kept increasing in the subsequent polls till 2021.
Gaurav Gogoi | Loss of Face for Self Than To Congress
Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi lost to BJP's Hitendranath Goswami by 23,182 votes in the Jorhat assembly.
Gogoi, the sitting MP of Jorhat, polled 46,257 votes, while Goswami secured 69,439 votes, retaining the seat for a third consecutive term.
Gogoi made his assembly election debut this time. On the other side, Goswami represented the constituency thrice as an AGP MLA and twice on a BJP ticket.
The deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha won the Jorhat parliamentary seat in 2024, defeating the BJP's Topon Kumar Gogoi by 1,44,393 votes.
Pinarayi Vijayan | Personal Victory But Loses State
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan won from the Dharmadom constituency even as the LDF suffered a severe setback.
Vijayan, who had trailed in Dharmadom until the sixth round of counting, secured victory by a margin of 19,247 votes over Congress candidate VP Abdul Rasheed, who put up a tough fight and polled 66,367 votes against Vijayan’s 85,614.
Vijayan, the face of the LDF in the Assembly election, has won from Dharmadom for the third consecutive time.
Dharmadom is regarded as an LDF stronghold, and the close contest was seen as an unusual development for the CPI(M) in Kannur.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, Vijayan had won from Dharmadom with a margin of over 45,000 votes.
E Palaniswami | Meets Same Fate As Vijayan, Wins Seat But Loses State
AIADMK chief K Palaniswami won by a record margin of 98,110 votes from Edappadi assembly constituency, defeating his nearest rival, an independent candidate Premkumar K, by securing 1,48,933 votes.
This is Palaniswami's sixth big win from the constituency in Salem district since the 1989 Assembly elections. Also, he trounced the DMK candidate Kasi C, who polled 44,011 votes.
Premkumar secured 50,823 votes.
Though a personal victory, Palaniswamy, who had high hopes for AIADMK as part of the NDA alliance, failed to do the magic and slipped to the third place, registering even worst performance than 2021.
With inputs from PTI
