Assembly elections in four states end with historic verdicts

In the elections held to these seats in 2016, the BJP had won only 64 seats out of the 824 seats.  In the just-concluded election, the BJP contested with the objective of expanding its clout all over the country. In Pondicherry it contested with the support of Ranga Swamy’s party.  But as ever, pollsters have failed to ascertain the true pulse of the voter.

Hyderabad: In the first Assembly elections of this decade and the second since the advent of the Covid pandemic, AIADMK (Tamilnadu) and Trinamool Congress (West Bengal) jumped into the fray for a third term in succession. Left wanted to retain Kerala while BJP sought to wrest both Assam and West Bengal. This time, elections were held in altogether 824 Assembly constituencies, spread across four states and a Union Territory.

In the elections held to these seats in 2016, the BJP had won only 64 seats out of the 824 seats. In the just-concluded election, the BJP contested with the objective of expanding its clout all over the country. In Pondicherry it contested with the support of Ranga Swamy’s party. But as ever, pollsters have failed to ascertain the true pulse of the voter.

While patting the shoulder of his son M.K. Stalin in 1975, M Karunanidhi had said “Indira Gandhi wants to make you a big leader. Start facing hardships.” Accordingly, Stalin faced several hardships. But the hard work he did in the form of a Padayatra held across Tamilnadu before the last elections under the programme titled Namakku Naame, yielded him good result in the present election. The Tamil electorate gave a verdict in DMK’s favor by casting 37 percent votes for it. The voters, however, did not totally dump the AIADMK either. They gave the party 77 seats with 33 percent vote.

Pinarayi Vijayan extended a well planned and organized support to shield the people of Kerala from the evil impact of the Covid pandemic. The people of Kerala rewarded him with a decisive victory in this Assembly election. BJP had opened its account in Kerala Assembly in last elections. This election witnessed the closure of that account as the saffron party could not even secure a single seat. The verdict of Kerala is special on several counts.

The poll arena of West Bengal attracted the attention of the entire nation as the BJP deployed all its might to put an end to the ten year long rule of Mamata Banerjee. West Bengal was the biggest among the five Assemblies which went to polls this time. Be it the decision to hold the Assembly election in the State in 8 phases or the relaxation of rules on polling agent appointments or the heavy deployment of CRPF, the Trinamool Congress had to fight with the Election Commission at every step. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah had pronounced that the BJP would be winning more than 200 seats in West Bengal. However, the voter of Bengal plumped for Mamata and gave her more than the 211 seats she had won in last elections.

The BJP had won only three seats by securing only 10.2 percent votes in the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections. The party’s fortunes changed by 2019 when the party won 18 Lok Sabha seats, which indicated party’s stronghold over 121 Assembly seats. With the expectation that a little effort could fetch it power in the State, the BJP jumped into the fray with all its might. It also welcomed into its fold a huge number of TMC deserters. The erstwhile supporters of Left parties stood by the BJP this time. The high pitch campaign witnessed accusations and counter-allegations, making the Bengal poll arena appear like a battlefield. The Left Front had won 32 Assembly seats in the last election and Congress had secured 44 seats. This time both of them could not even open their account. The battle for Bengal was fought as if there were only Trinamool and BJP in the fray, as the voter swept aside all the other players. The tragic irony of this election is that Mamata lost her own seat to her erstwhile lieutenant Suvendu Adhikar in Nandigram.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP had won a surprising victory in Assam, a crucial State in the North East. This time also the party won the State without much difficulty. The Congress had hoped to bag the 34 percent Muslim vote by allying itself with AIUDF. In spite of that, the BJP led alliance won 72 seats in the State. The voter of Assam gave a mature and historic verdict on the basis of State-related issues.