Vijay wins, Mamata, Stalin, Gaurav Gogoi among losers... How big leaders fared in polls

It’s been a day of highs and lows. The votes are now in for the assembly elections in four states — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam — and one Union Territory, Puducherry.

In West Bengal, the BJP has trounced the Trinamool Congress, putting an end to Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule. Now, speculation has begun as to who will be the next chief minister in the state.

In Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politician Vijay has sprung a surprise on all. His party, the TVK, has struck gold, emerging as the single-largest party in the state.

Elsewhere, the Congress-led UDF has stunned with a performance in Kerala, while the ruling NDA in Assam is on track for its best-ever performance in the state with Himanta Biswa Sarma helming affairs. In Puducherry, the AINRC is on course to win again.

More from Explainers

News18 exit polls: BJP favoured in Bengal, TVK surge in Tamil Nadu, UDF ahead in Kerala

But how have your favourite netas fared?

WEST BENGAL

Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee has now suffered twin losses -- both the West Bengal elections as well as her Bhabanipur seat. The TMC chief lost from the constituency by a margin of over 15,000 votes. Her vanquisher is none other than her protégé-turned-rival, Suvendu Adhikari, who got 73,463 votes compared to her 58,349 votes.

For the unversed, the Bhabanipur seat is Mamata’s political base, the seat she chose to contest in 2021 after losing Nandigram to remain chief minister. Ironically, it was Adhikari who had defeated her in Nandigram election by less than 2,000 votes.

Suvendu Adhikari

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari during a campaign amid the West Bengal Assembly elections, in Kolkata. File image/PTI

For the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, this makes two straight elections in which he has beaten Mamata on her home turf. In fact, it was Adhikari who had pushed the BJP to field him in Bhabanipur this time.

Kunal Ghosh

In Beleghata, the TMC’s Kunal Ghosh defeated BJP’s Partha Chaudhury. Ghosh received 93757 votes compared to Chaudhary's 65,181 votes -- a margin of 28,576 votes. CPI(M)’s Paramita Roy and Congress candidate Shahina Javed were also in the contest.

Firhad Hakim

A close aide of Mamata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim has won the Kolkata Port constituency. He has garnered 101,226 votes in his favour. He was facing off against the BJP's Rakesh Singh, who received 45,146 votes. In the end, the margin was a massive 56,080 votes. Hakim has now won the seat in four consecutive elections and remains the party’s strongest face in this constituency. In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Firhad Hakim had defeated BJP’s Awadh Kishore Gupta by a large margin of 68,554 votes.

TAMIL NADU

Vijay

Actor-politician Vijay has won both Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies.

Vijay won the former by a margin of 53,715 votes against DMK candidate RD Sekhar and the latter by a margin of 27,416 votes.

Notably, Perambur has been traditionally a DMK bastion; in 2021, DMK’s RD Sekar won comfortably with 52.53 per cent of the vote.

This comes along with Vijay’s TVK party’s stunning debut in Tamil Nadu elections, emerging as the single-largest party.

MK Stalin

DMK chief and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has lost from the Kolathur constituency. TVK’s VS Babu has won the seat by securing 82,997 votes, leaving behind Stalin with 74,202.

Until now, the seat was considered a DMK stronghold. Stalin has won this seat thrice since its formation in 2011 after delimitation. In 2011, he beat AIADMK’s Saidai Duraisamy, with a narrow margin of under 3,000 votes. In 2016, Stalin managed to bag this seat comfortably with a margin of over 37,000 votes. And in 2021, Stalin continued his winning streak, and this time the margin of votes was more than 80,000.

Edappadi Palaniswami

Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has won from the Edappadi constituency. It is his hometown and stronghold. The former CM won 148933 whereas his closest rival, Independent candidate Premkumar secured 50,823 votes.

For Palaniswami, a win from Edapaddi will reaffirm his authority within the AIADMK.

ASSAM

Himata Biswa Sarma

No surprises, but the BJP’s Himanta Biswa Sarma has won from the Jalukbari constituency. The margin of victory is huge, almost 88,000 votes.

Sarma has won five straight elections from Jalukbari since 2001, showcasing strong voter support.

Gaurav Gogoi

Here’s a big shocker from Jorhat. Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi has lost against BJP’s Hitendra Nath Goswami, who has on and off represented the seat for more than 20 years. The margin between the two is over 23,000 votes.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, Goswami retained the seat, defeating Congress’s Rana Goswami by a margin of 6,488 votes. This was a tighter contest compared to 2016, when Goswami won by over 13,000 votes.

Akhil Gogoi

Firebrand activist-turned-politician Akhil Gogoi, president of the Raijor Dal, has emerged triumphant from the Sibsagar seat. He was up against Kushal Dowari from the BJP, Tapan Gogoi from the AAP, and Prodip Hazarika representing the AGP.

KERALA

Pinarayi Vijayan

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has secured another victory from the Dharmadam constituency. The veteran politician won a total of 85,614 votes whereas his closest competitor won 66,367 votes.

The CM has remained undefeated in the past two elections from the same constituency. In the 2021 Assembly elections, Vijayan defeated C Raghunathan of Congress by a margin of 50,123 votes. Meanwhile, in the 2016 Assembly elections, Vijayan defeated Mambaram Divakaran of the Congress by a majority of 50, 424 votes.

KK Shailaja

KK Shailaja, the former Kerala health minister, has lost from the Peravoor seat. Congress leader Sunny Joseph won the seat convincingly with over 76,000 votes. Sunny Joseph, who trailed in the initial rounds of counting, gradually gained momentum.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar

BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar has won from the Nemom constituency. Nemom made history in 2016 by electing O Rajagopal as the BJP’s first and only MLA in Kerala. However, the party lost the seat in 2021.

Chandrasekhar won against Kerala’s current minister, Vasudevan Sivankutty.

Interestingly, Nemom has historically witnessed frequent shifts in electoral outcomes, with no candidate securing consecutive terms in recent cycles.

PUDUCHERRY

N Rangasamy

Chief Minister N Rangasamy, founder and leader of the All India NR Congress (AINRC), has won from both the Mangalam and Thattanchavady constituencies  in the 2026 Puducherry Assembly elections.

In Mangalam constituency in Puducherry, Rangasamy defeated Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s SS Rangan by a margin of 7,050 votes. In Thattanchavady constituency, Rangasamy defeated former chief minister and veteran leader V Vaithilingam by a margin of 4,441 votes.

VP Ramalingame

VP Ramalingame, Puducherry BJP chief, has lost from Raj Bhavan constituency. DMK’s Vignesh Kannan has won the seat with a margin of more than 7,000 votes

With inputs from agencies