The fall of bigwigs: Meet the giant slayers from Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

India witnessed vote counting on Monday (May 4) in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. The election covered 832 assembly constituencies and a population of over 276 million people. Voters asserted their electoral power.

The outcomes in states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam were particularly striking, with relatively lesser-known candidates toppling entrenched leaders. The big states' fight results showed that no stronghold is immune to disruption in a democratic election.

A look at the giant slayers who defeated political heavyweights.

West Bengal

It is a BJP tsunami in Bengal.

The party candidate Suvendu Adhikari routed the sitting Chief Minister of the State and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in her Bhabanipur bastion. Adhikari won by more than 15 thousand votes.

Initially, Banerjee was leading in the assembly constituency; however, in the last few rounds, Adhikari began leading and emerged victorious.

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Suvendu also won the Nandigram seat after an 88 per cent voter turnout. The constituency, located in Purba Medinipur district, voted in the first phase of polling on April 23.

In Kalimpong, BJP’s Bharat Chettri defeated BGPM’s Ruden Sada Lepcha by over 21,000 votes, marking a significant breakthrough in the sensitive hill region.

BJP’s Ashim Kumar also gave a close fight to TMC’s Sougata Kumar Burman in Ranaghat Dakshin, defeating Burman and the party's long-standing local dominance in the region.

Tamil Nadu

A political earthquake struck the state of Tamil Nadu.

The “Vijay effect” took over the state, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADM) being on the backseat.

Actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party disrupted the year-long dominance of the AIADMK and the DMK.

The most dramatic upset came from the Kolathur constituency, where TVK candidate VS Babu defeated Chief Minister MK Stalin in a DMK bastion that Stalin has held since 2011. Stalin was unseated by nearly 9,000 votes in the constituency he had comfortably won since 2021.

K Vijay Dhamu, an auto driver and TVK debutant, won the Royapuram constituency with over 55,000 votes, defeating Tamil Nadu's former finance minister and AIADMK strongman D Jayakumar, who had held the constituency since 1991.

Another significant result emerged from Gobichettipalayam, where TVK’s KA Sengottaiyan secured a victory over DMK’s Nallasivam by a margin of over 16,000 votes, reinforcing the party’s growing capacity to take on established regional political players.

Assam

The state gave targeted blows to Congress heavyweights.

In Jorhat, veteran BJP leader Hitendra Nath Goswami routed Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi by more than 23,000 votes, marking one of the most prominent individual defeats in the state.

Similarly, in Biswanath, BJP’s Pallab Lochan Das triumphed over senior Congress leader Jayanta Borah by a wide margin of over 25,000 votes.

Kerala

Kerala’s results produced constituency-level giant slayers.

In Kuttiadi, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Parakkal Abdulla defeated CPI(M)’s KP Kunhammedkutty Master by a margin exceeding 10,000 votes-- a notable upset in a closely watched contest.

In Payyanur, independent-backed United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate V. Kunhikrishnan routed CPI(M)’s TI Madhusoodanan, signalling cracks in the Left bastions.

Puducherry

Puducherry polls also witnessed quiet but meaningful disruption.

While Chief Minister N Rangasamy held on to his seat in Thattanchavady, several NDA-backed candidates have edged out Congress–DMK-aligned rivals in key constituencies, pointing to a gradual erosion of traditional power centres.

With inputs from agencies