Election Results 2016 for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry have been one roller coaster ride. It’s been a clean sweep for Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, with Left being wiped out for a second time in a row. Along predicted lines though, the Left has emerged as powerful force in Kerala, with the LDF witnessing a thumping victory over Congress-led UDF.
It is bad news for Congress all around, with the party being demolished by the BJP-led alliance in the north-eastern state of Assam. The move is significant for BJP, since this is the first time that the party will form a government in the state.
In yet another surprise, Tamil Nadu has retained its love for the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK, with the CM making a come back with a decent win over Karunanidhi’s DMK. In some consolation for Congress, it won the Union territory of Puducherry, in alliance with DMK.
Reacting to the poor show by Congress, party VP Rahul Gandhi said the party will work harder till it wins the confidence and trust of people. ” We accept the verdict of people with humility. My best wishes to the parties that have won the elections,” he said.
BJP President Amit Shah said that the election results have laid a foundation for the party to perform better in 2019. “We have laid a strong foundation in these states for 2019. I am sure we will perform well in these states in the 2019 elections.”
FE Online takes a look at some major takeaways from the Election results 2016:
West Bengal: Despite being on the backfoot because of the Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada sting operation Mamata Banerjee has emerged as a strong force in the state. According to the data available with EC at the time of publishing this article, the TMC has obtained a vote share of 44.9%, CPM 19.7%, Congress 12.3%. BJP has managed to get a vote share of 10.2%.
It has put up an impressive show in West Bengal by bettering its tally over the last elections. The Left-Congress alliance did not make much impact despite predictions by political pundits.
“It is an unprecedented victory despite a joint opposition unleashing violence. I thank the people of Bengal from bottom of my heart for keeping faith in Trinamool Congress. The opposition had spun a web of lies which has been rejected,” Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee said.
Tamil Nadu: The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK has won again, with the vote share tilted heavily in its favour. The Tamil Nadu CM has won with a decent margin over DMK, despite exit polls predicting otherwise. J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK has won in Tamil Nadu for a straight second term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when a ruling party has not returned to power.
The CM’s party has managed a huge vote share of 40.8%. DMK has get 31.6% vote share, while the Congress bagged 6.4% share. BJP managed single digit 2.8% vote share.
Assam: The BJP has stormed Assam unseating Congress. Congress has been in power for three consecutive terms. The saffron party is all set to elect Sarbananda Sonowal as the chief minister of Assam.
Sonowal said stopping infiltration, a main poll plank of the saffron alliance, would be a major challenge for him.
Himanta Biswa Sarma is one of the key men behind BJP’s historic victory in Assam. Sarma, formerly a minister in Assam CM Tarun Gogoi’s government, joined the BJP in 2015 after a spat with Gogoi.
BJP had stitched an alliance of virtually all regional parties, which represent various sections of indigenous population, to take on Congress and AIUDF, accusing the two parties of supporting infiltrators, mostly Bangladeshi Muslims. According to TV reports, the BJP-alliance has managed to bag a a decent vote share among Muslims.
Even though BJP has come with a thumping majority, it is Congress which is leading in the vote share with 31%. BJP on the other hand was a close second at 29.5%.
Kerala: In Kerala, the Left Front has dislodged Congress from power ,keeping up the tradition of voting out the incumbent government. One big takeaway from Kerala results is for the BJP which has won its first seat in the state. BJP’s O Rajagopal, is the man of the moment for the party. Rajagopal an old party veteran is the sole BJP candidate to have won in the southern state.
Bagging a seat in this politically-polarised state is a major achievement for the party, which is in alliance in Kerala with the newly formed caste-oriented Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS).
CPM’s vote share stood at 26.5% at the time of publishing this article. Congress had 23.7%, but it was BJP whose vote share has caught attention at 10.5%.
Puducherry: Congress-DMK combine have stormed to power in Puducherry, winning simple majority of 17 in the 30-member Assembly. Congress has a share of 30.6% votes and AINRC has got a close 28.1%, according to the data by EC. While ADMK bagged a vote share of 16.8%, DMK got 8.9%.
