CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ KOCHI l tuesday l may 05, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION HOW THE MAP Assembly elections 2026 (wins + leads) Assembly elections Kerala BJP Big-hitting in WB, Cong in Kerala If a Vijay wave led by Gen Z voters blew away the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the BJP crushed the ruling TMC in West Bengal, registering a two-thirds majority. Likewise, the UDF wrested power in Kerala with a two-thirds majority. Assam and Pondy stayed with the NDA Seats: 140 UDF 102 LDF 35 03 Oth 00 Tamil Nadu Seats: 234 TVK 107 DMK+ 74 AIADMK+ 53 Oth CHANGED 00 West bengal Seats: 294 BJP 206 TMC 81 BJP INC 2014 02 CPM 01 Oth 03 Assam Seats: 126 BJP+ 102 19 AIUDF 02 Oth 03 Puducherry Seats: 30 NDA 17 DMK 05 TVK 02 INC 01 Oth 05 INC UDF workers celebrate the front’s victory in the assembly elections, outside Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday | Albin Mathew 2026 by actor-turned-neta’s party in TN, Cong in Kerala, BJP in West Bengal Of the total 28 states and 8 Union territories in India, NDA is now in power in 22 states/UTs, one more than last year Vijay yatra I am proud of the way we worked together as a family — a true example of coalition politics V D Satheesan Leader of Oppn PIC: Parveen Negi turning point for bjp: pm m u k e s h r anjan & P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi m u k e s h r anjan @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared BJP’s West Bengal victory a “historic turning point” for Indian politics, saying the lotus was now blooming “from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar.” Addressing jubilant party workers at the BJP headquarters, PM Modi arrived dressed in traditional Bengali attire, a deliberate cultural gesture that drew immediate attention. The win completes what Modi called the party’s “Rise of the East” (Purvoday) vision, with BJP now governing all three eastern states — Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal. “Today’s win is truly historic. When years of silent dedication and relentless hard work finally translate into such monumental success, the joy on BJP Karyakartas’ faces is incomparable,” he said. PM Modi highlighted Bengal’s nearly-93 percent voter turnout as “historic in itself,” crediting the Election Commission for free and fair polls. He promised that Bengal’s new BJP cabinet would immediately green-light the Ayushman Bharat scheme, take strict action against infiltrators, ensure women’s safety and , generate employment. Paying tribute to BJP founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Modi said his soul must be at peace seeing Bengal’s transformation. The PM said communists no longer govern a single state, calling it “not merely a political shift but a shift in mindset.” Didi swept out of power after 15 years INSIDE Congress leaders V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal, Shashi Tharoor, Ramesh Chennithala and Sunny Joseph celebrate UDF’s victory at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday | B P Deepu The results of the five state Assembly elections have delivered more than just a verdict for parties, especially the BJP which pulled off an emphatic , mandate to end the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. For the saffron party the victory is , more than electoral arithmetic, as it has conquered the last major eastern bastion that had resisted its expansion for over a decade. Banerjee lost her Bhabanipur seat to Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 15,000 votes in the saffron wave and the BJP made inroads into TMC strongholds, suggesting a deeper realignment rather than a transient swing. The setback for the TMC is expected to blunt its ability to assert primacy within the INDIA bloc, potentially recalibrating internal equations in favour of the Congress. The BJP appears to have rebounded after the setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when its tally dropped from over 300 seats in 2019 to 240—well short of the halfway mark of 271. Since then, the party has secured a series of electoral victories. It returned to power in Haryana for a third consecutive term, followed by Maharashtra, where it regained power after a fallout with its pre-poll alliance partner Shiv Sena. In Bihar, too, the NDA returned to power. In Delhi, the BJP unseated the AAP, which had ruled the National Capital Territory for two full terms. The BJP’s winning streak continued with victories in Assam and Puducherry where it retained power rid, ing on pro-incumbency sentiment, and West Bengal where its campaign centred on nationalism, development, and violence-free society The impres. sive Bengal win will help the BJP enter the next cycle of elections with aplomb. In 2027, the key states of Uttar SUBHE N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata BJP’s landslide victory in West Bengal marked a dramatic political shift as the Trinamool Congress citadel came crashing down on Monday with Chief , Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee losing her seat to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who is now the frontrunner for the CM post. It heralded the exit of the Didi after three consecutive terms in power in the state. With a comfortable lead in 206 of 294 assembly seats during counting, the BJP is set to form a government for the first time in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress, which had won 215 Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will go to polls. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu delivered another surprise with debutant TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay emerging , the single-largest party While TVK’s . victory is seen as a verdict in favour of change, the defeat of incumbent CM M K Stalin came as a shocker. The AIADMK was pushed to a distant third spot. While TVK has fallen short of the majority mark of 118 seats, it is learnt the party is in talks with smaller parties as well as the DMK’s longtime ally Congress. , This is the first time since 1967, when the first non-Congress government (DMK) came to power in the state, that a party other than the two Dravidian heavyweights has emerged victorious. The setbacks for the TMC and DMK, key players in the Opposition and the third- and fourth-largest contributors to its Lok Sabha strength, are expected to dent INDIA bloc’s morale, already strained by recent electoral reverses. However, the results came as a breather for the Congress-led UDF in Kerala, which stormed to power after a gap of 10 years. The BJP also broke through, ending its long-standing electoral drought by winning three seats. For the grand old party, the victory adds a third southern state to its kitty , after Karnataka and Telangana. Although Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal saw votes against incumbent governments, the electorate chose continuity in Assam, where the NDA is set to form the government for the third time in a row. In a major blow to the Congress, its state president, Gaurav Gogoi, lost in Jorhat to sitting BJP MLA Hitendranath Goswami by more than 20,000 votes. In Puducherry the AINRC-led NDA , is set to retain power for the second consecutive term. The Congress managed to secure only one seat. seats in 2021, is leading in 81 seats. In a repeat of the 2021 result, Adhikari defeated Banerjee from her home turf, Bhawanipore. Banerjee lost by 15,114 votes, compared to her narrow defeat by around 2,000 votes in Nandigram in 2021. The BJP’s lotus bloomed across the state as not only Banerjee but more than 15 ministers suffered defeats. In 2021, TMC had formed the government for a third term with 215 seats, while the BJP had secured 77. Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said people had rejected the TMC, while also urging supporters to maintain peace and harmony . The party and LDF will introspect on the people’s mandate, after which required corrections will be made M V Govindan, CPM state secy This historic victory is a triumph of the patience of those families who, even while enduring violence, never abandoned the saffron flag. Amit Shah, BJP BJP’s landslide victory in the state polls is immoral ... the mandate in more than 100 seats in Bengal was “looted”. Mamata Banerjee, TMC chief CPM citadels crumble in Kerala revolt Left powerless in India after 49 yrs After the Congress-led UDF wrested Kerala, the Left does not have power in any state for the first time since 1977 TOP WINNERS Ramesh Chennithala A n i l S @ T’Puram Ending a decade-long wait, the Congress-led UDF swept to power in emphatic fashion, securing an unprecedented 102 seats in the Kerala Assembly Riding . a powerful anti-incumbency wave — sharpened by a clear anti-Pinarayi sentiment — the UDF reduced the incumbent LDF to a humbling 35 seats, down from 98. The front fell just short of clinching a three-fourth majority The Congress registered its best-ever per. formance, surging from 22 to 63 seats, while the CPM suffered a sharp decline, falling from 62 to just 26. The BJP too, carved out a moment of its own, reo, pening its account with an impressive three seats. Beyond reclaiming Nemom, the party wrested Kazhakkoottam and Chathannoor from the Left. With the UDF’s emphatic victory attention now turns , to who will be the next chief Crucial Cong minister. The Congress Legmeeting islature Party, to meet on T’Puram: All eyes are Wednesday or Thursday, is on the Congress expected to elect its leader. leadership as the Leader of Opposition V D first legislature party Satheesan and senior leader meeting is set to Ramesh Chennithala are be held on May 6 or 7 frontrunners, though there to elect the parliaare indications that AICC mentary party leader, organisational general secwho will be next CM. retary K C Venugopal could also be in contention for the top post. With its crushing defeat in Kerala, the CPM has now lost its last remaining citadel in the country It’s . the first time in the last 49 years that the party is not in power at least in one state in the country In an elec. tion where the Left pinned its hopes on development and welfare to secure a third consecutive term, a surge of public anger—compounded by discontent within its own ranks—proved decisive. Thirteen of the 20 ministers in the fray were defeated, and even Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saw his winning margin shrink sharply from over 50,000 , in 2021 to just 19,247 votes. The verdict has also left several LDF allies in an unenviable spot. The Kerala Congress (M)—which switched sides ahead of 2021 polls—drew a blank. Other Left allies, including Janata Dal (Secular), Nationalist Congress Party Con, gress (Secular) and Kerala Congress (B), also failed to ● More on P6 open their account.  23,377 margin of victory over T T Jismon of CPI in Haripad V D Satheesan Won by 2 0 , 6 0 0 beat E T Taison Master of CPI in Paravur Udhayanidhi Stalin Won by 7 , 1 4 0 beat Selvam D of TVK in Chepauk Himanta Biswa Sarma Won by 8 9 , 4 3 4 beat Bidisha Neog of INC in Jalukbari R atn a Debn at h Won by 2 8 , 8 3 6 Mother of R G Kar victim’s mother, she beat TMC’s Tirthankar Ghosh in Panihati TOP LOSERS M B R a jes h Lost by 8 , 3 8 5 to V T Balram of Cong in Thrithala P R a jeeve Lost by 1 6 , 3 1 2 to IUML’s V E Abdul Gafoor In Kalamassery M K S ta l in Lost by 8 , 7 9 5 to V S Babu of TVK in Kolathur M a m ata B a nerjee Lost by 1 5 , 1 4 0 to Suvendu Adhikari in Bhawanipore pondy: Rangasamy retains power, nda wins 18 of 30 seats The NDA led by Chief Minister N Rangasamy has retained power in Puducherry, with the alliance winning 18 out of 30 seats. AINRC won 12 seats, BJP secured four, and AIADMK and LJK won one each. INDIA bloc managed to win only six seats, three independents also emerged victorious. TVK won two seats, while its ally NMK got one. 24 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Jananayagan era begins in Tamil Nadu P r a b h aka r Ta m i l a r a s u @ Chennai Don’t leave counting centres: Didi Mamata Banerjee asked TMC polling agents not to leave counting centres, stressing vigilance until final results are out and urged workers to follow the rules. Actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay’s TVK has pulled off a stunning electoral debut by winning 105 and leading in two (as of going to press on Monday) of 234 assembly seats, emerging as the single largest party . Vijay secured a double bonanza, winning both the Perambur and Tiruchy (East) seats that he contested by a margin of over 50,000 and 27,000 votes, respectively The verdict has ended the . seven decades of Dravidian duopoly, with the debutant pushing the ruling DMK to the second place and the AIADMK, the principal opposition, to the third spot. By securing 34.91% vote-share in a four-cornered fight, Vijay has surpassed the 30.4% votes secured by MG Ramachandran, founder of AIADMK, in the party’s first Assembly poll in TN in 1977. TVK’s performance has cut across regions and voter demographics, breaching constituencies that have been DMK and AIADMK bastions for decP6 ades. elections in five states largely peaceful, says poll commission | P11; NDA hat-trick in Assam | P12; Gulf conflict resumes as iran hits uae, oman I P13