Results of five simultaneous state/UT assembly elections were declared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on May 4, 2026, delivering sweeping political changes across India’s federal landscape. The outcomes: BJP wins West Bengal for the first time in history; Congress-UDF returns to power in Kerala ousting the Left; TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) under actor-politician Vijay emerges as the single largest party in a hung Tamil Nadu assembly; BJP secures a historic hat-trick in Assam; and NDA retains Puducherry.
Results at a Glance
State/UT
Total Seats
Majority Mark
Winner
Key Seats
West Bengal
294
148
BJP
206
Kerala
140
71
UDF (Congress-led)
102
Tamil Nadu
234
118
Hung — TVK largest
107
Assam
126
64
BJP (NDA: 102)
82
Puducherry
30
16
NDA
18
West Bengal — BJP’s Historic First Win
Results
Party
Seats
BJP
206
TMC
~80–87
Congress
2
Left Front (CPI-M)
1
Voter turnout: ~91.91–92.84% (sources vary; ECI/DD News report 91.91%) — highest ever in West Bengal electoral history
Polling phases: April 23 and April 29, 2026
Results declared: May 4, 2026
Key Contests
Bhabanipur:Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) defeated Mamata Banerjee (TMC) by ~15,000 votes — Mamata’s second consecutive defeat to Adhikari (he also beat her at Nandigram in 2021).
Mamata conceded defeat; TMC will be reduced to opposition.
Suvendu Adhikari, who was Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly, is the expected Chief Minister.
Historical Significance
BJP wins West Bengal for the first time ever, ending more than 50 years of uninterrupted Left + TMC dominance (Left: 1977–2011; TMC: 2011–2026).
For the first time since Indian independence, neither Congress, Left, nor a Congress-supported government rules Bengal — historically India’s most influential state politically.
UPSC Angles
Anti-incumbency: TMC in power 15 years (since 2011); incumbent advantage collapsed.
Political violence: Bengal historically had high election-related violence — record-high ~91.91–92.84% turnout with relatively peaceful polling is significant for ECI management.
Centre-State relations: Historically adversarial Bengal–Centre dynamics (TMC vs BJP) will fundamentally shift.
Kerala — No Left Government in India for First Time Since 1977
Results
Alliance
Seats
Key Party Seats
UDF (Congress-led)
102
Congress: 63; IUML: 22
LDF (CPI-M led)
35
CPI(M): 26
NDA/BJP
2–3
—
Key Events
Pinarayi Vijayan resigned as Kerala CM within hours of the result; the Governor accepted his resignation; he continues as caretaker.
Pinarayi won his own Dharmadam seat for the third consecutive term despite the party’s rout — a personal triumph within a collective defeat.
For the first time since 1977, no Left-led government exists anywhere in India — a landmark political shift.
Kerala’s traditional “pendulum” alternation (LDF and UDF alternating every 5 years) had been broken in 2021 when LDF won two consecutive terms. UDF now reclaims power.
CM Candidates (Under Discussion)
VD Satheesan (Leader of Opposition), Ramesh Chennithala, KC Venugopal, Shashi Tharoor (who ruled himself out as CM candidate).
Tamil Nadu — TVK Breaks 59-Year Dravidian Duopoly
Results
Party
Seats
TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam)
107
DMK
~59–64
AIADMK
~47
Outcome: Hung Assembly — TVK is single largest party but falls short of the 118-seat majority mark.
Key Contests
Kolathur: MK Stalin lost to TVK’s VS Babu (Stalin: ~73,000 votes; VS Babu: ~83,000 votes; margin ~10,000) — Stalin’s personal defeat is a defining moment.
Vijay won from two constituencies — Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East.
Edappadi Palaniswami (AIADMK chief) won from Edappadi constituency.
Historical Significance
TVK is a brand-new party (founded 2024 by actor Vijay) — this is among the fastest rises to power for any new political party in India’s democratic history.
Breaks the 59-year Dravidian duopoly (since 1967, Tamil Nadu was always governed by either DMK or AIADMK). TVK is neither.
Government formation: TVK needs coalition partners or outside support. DMK or AIADMK support is needed to cross 118.
Assam — BJP’s Hat-Trick
Results
Party/Alliance
Seats
BJP alone
82
NDA total
102
Congress
19
AIUDF (Badruddin Ajmal)
2
Raijor Dal (Akhil Gogoi)
2
TMC
1
Himanta Biswa Sarma won from Jalukbari constituency; set for his third consecutive term as CM.
BJP alone won a clear two-thirds majority — no alliance partners needed.
AIUDF near-wipeout: From 16 seats in 2021 to just 2 seats in 2026 — Badruddin Ajmal’s party effectively eliminated.
Puducherry — NDA Retains Power
Alliance
Seats
NDA (AINRC + BJP + AIADMK)
18
Congress
~4–5
TVK
2–4
DMK
2
N. Rangasamy (AINRC) won from Thattanchavady constituency by a 4,441-vote margin; set for another term as CM.
TVK made a notable debut in Puducherry as well, winning 2–4 seats.
National-Level Takeaways
Dimension
What Happened
BJP gains
West Bengal (historic first); Assam hat-trick; consolidates NDA
Congress recovery
UDF wins Kerala; breaking LDF’s second comeback bid
New political actors
TVK (Tamil Nadu) — brand-new party, fastest power ascent
Left Front collapse
No Left govt in India for first time since 1977; AIUDF wiped out in Assam
Anti-incumbency
Punished TMC (Bengal, 15 years) and LDF (Kerala); but BJP defied it in Assam
Hung assembly
Tamil Nadu — raises questions on floor test, Governor’s role, coalition politics
UPSC Relevance
Paper
Angle
GS2 — Polity
Role of ECI, multi-party system, hung assembly and floor test, anti-defection law, coalition building
GS2 — Governance
Governor’s discretion in inviting government, constitutional conventions post-hung verdict
GS2 — Federalism
Centre-State dynamics with new state governments; cooperative vs competitive federalism
GS1 — Society
Regional identity politics — Dravidian politics (Tamil Nadu), Bengali sub-nationalism
This content was researched and written in collaboration with Claude AI (Anthropic). Key facts are verified against web sources before publishing — but errors can occasionally slip through. If you spot something incorrect, our team wants to fix it immediately.
