Assembly election results from five states delivered major upsets, with voters in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala signalling a strong demand for change. The outcome saw the defeat of two sitting chief ministers and around 50 ministers, along with several other prominent figures in other states and Puducherry.
In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government suffered a sharp setback. A total of 22 ministers from the ruling Trinamool Congress were defeated, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who lost in Bhabanipur to Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes.
Overall, Mamata Banerjee and 13 ministers, along with five ministers of state holding independent charge, failed to retain their seats. Among the notable defeats were Swapan Debnath, Pradeep Kumar Majumdar, Pratya Basu and Aroop Biswas.
Tamil Nadu also witnessed a dramatic reversal, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin losing the Kolathur seat—held by him since 2011—to TVK candidate Babu. The results also dealt a blow to Finance Minister Thiagarajan and School Education Minister Mahesh, among 14 other ministers.
In Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan retained his Dharmadam seat, but 13 ministers—including Health Minister Veena George and Education Minister V. Sivankutty—were defeated. The overall picture, the report said, indicates public dissatisfaction with ruling parties.
The report also noted that among the five states, only Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Puducherry Chief Minister Rangasamy managed to retain power.
