As the counting of votes for the ongoing Assembly elections enter the decisive phase, the verdict is clear: we aren’t just looking at a change of government—we are witnessing a “year of broken records.”
Whether it’s the fall of a 15-year-old Bengal bastion in the East, the end of a decades-long duopoly in the South, or a failed attempt at a historic hat-trick, the 2026 results are rewriting the Indian political rulebook.
Here is why 2026 stands as an ‘election of records’ for the big three states participating in the ongoing assembly elections.
Mamata Banerjee: End of TMC’s 15-year term? Bengal colored saffron
The biggest news of the day – BJP breaching the Trinamool Congress’s Bengal fortress with over 180 seats – enough to form the government in the state. This will be the fisrt time the BJP will form the government in West Bengal, marking a new history of the party. This marks the definitive end of the Trinamool era that began in 2011.
In a ‘statistically alarming’ development, ‘Didi’ has only just recently taken the lead in home turf of Bhabanipur after trailing behind the BJP candidate for a sizable portion of this morning.
The record 91 lakh voter deletions (the SIR paradox) shifted the arithmetic so sharply that the TMC hit a “mathematical wall” it couldn’t scale. After a decade and a half of dominance, the anti-incumbency wave proved too large for even the most seasoned street fighter to withstand.
Pinarayi Vijayan: LDF’s hat-trick hunt halted
In Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan was chasing a ghost: a third consecutive term in the Chief Minister’s office, a feat never achieved in the state’s history. While Vijayan broke the 40-year “alternating” tradition in 2021, 2026 saw the state revert to its previous voting patterns.
With the Congress-led alliance leading in over 100 seats, this represents one of the most decisive “return to form” records in Kerala’s history, effectively halting CPI’s long march in its final Indian bastion.
While UDF’s face for CM is not completely settled yet, they look primed to dethrone LDF after two consecutive terms.
‘Thalapathy’ Vijay: A ‘Blockbuster debut’ without precedent
Perhaps the most stunning record of 2026 belongs to Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar. His entry into politics has moved beyond celebrity curiosity into a full-blown systemic disruption. Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has emerged as the single-largest party in early trends, leading in 101 seats.
For over 50 years, Tamil Nadu was a “two-horse race.” Vijay has shattered this record, pushing the ruling DMK to a shocking third place in early tallies and shattering the duopoly that has governed the state for past years.
TVK candidates are currently leading against seasoned veterans in urban fortresses like Kolathur and Chepauk. This is officially the most successful political debut by a cinema star in Indian history.
The 2026 results signify a move toward higher voter turnouts and a disruption of pre-established electoral patterns. The average voter turnout across these four states and one UT touched a record 86.4%, suggesting that the 2026 electorate was not just voting—they were demanding a larger overhaul. In all three states mentioned above, the party in power has not recorded the best results ahead of their competitors so far.