Bengaluru (Karnataka)

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday linked TMC's electoral loss in West Bengal to strong anti-incumbency sentiments and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, while crediting support from youth for Vijay's TVK landmark performance in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to reporters here, the CM said that Mamata Banerjee's continuous rule of 15 years could have resulted in the rise of anti-incumbency, resulting in their loss in the state

"Mamata Banerjee was in power for 15 years, and I feel anti-incumbency must have played a role in it. Additionally, SIR, they removed 91 lakh votes, which could also be a reason. In Tamil Nadu, mostly youngsters voted for actor and TVK founder Vijay, as they wanted a change," Siddaramaiah said.

Shifting his focus to his own party's gains, Siddaramaiah hailed the victory of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Keralam, stating that the result exceeded their expectations. "It's a surprising result. We expected more in Kerala, and we got more than we anticipated," he said.

Congress-led UDF won a dramatic victory in Keralam and will form a government in the southern state after ending 10 years of LDF rule.

Congress had failed to oust the Pinarayi Vijayan government in the last assembly polls, but ran a relatively unified campaign this time, leaving the issue of the Chief Minister to be settled after the polls.

Keralam victory has come for Congress after a series of losses in assembly polls since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress was seen to have allowed the victory in the Haryana polls slip from its hands.

Meanwhile, the BJP created history on Monday in the assembly polls results, with the party slated to form its first government in West Bengal. BJP's victory in West Bengal marks a significant moment for the party as it has been for long a marginal player in the state dominated for years by the Congress, Left parties and later Trinamool Congress. It is also the home state of BJP's ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerji.

The BJP had won 77 seats in the last assembly polls. According to the latest results from ECI, the BJP won 207 seats in West Bengal, a feat its leaders had apparently not imagined.

The success reflected the steadfastness of the BJP's campaign during which it amplified every issue on which it could target the ruling Trinamool Congress. BJP also outdid the Trinamool Congress in terms of promises for various sections of society, as elections saw a lot of heat and dust over the SIR of electoral rolls.

In Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politician Vijay created a flutter as his party TVK won 108 seats in the assembly polls and pushed the two Dravadian parties to distant positions in terms of seats.

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Despite its stunning performance, TVK couldn't cross the halfway mark of 118 seats, falling short of 10 seats. DMK won 59 seats and AIADMK 47. Congress won five seats and DMDK three.