Vote counting LIVE: Vijay shocks Dravidian giants; BJP crosses 200 in Bengal; UDF wave in Kerala
The 2026 election story: The fall of bastions, the rise of a superstar, and a saffron breakthrough in the East.
Extending its saffron spread in eastern India, the BJP is set for a decisive win over the TMC in long elusive West Bengal and headed for another term in Assam while actor-politician Vijay’s TVK made a stunning debut in Tamil Nadu as the largest single party in terms of seats won or led. As votes were counted for Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, Election Commission trends showed a wipeout of the Left and a solitary win for the Congress that has been battling diminishing electoral returns.
Also Read: Understanding the Vijay phenomenon in Tamil Nadu politics
Also Read: What explains Bengal’s saffron shift? 6 reasons why Mamata was decimated
Also Read: UDF landslide in Kerala: The multiple factors that toppled Left
That silver lining for the opposition party came from Kerala where the Congress-led UDF won or was leading in 101 of the 140 Assembly seats while the CPM-led ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) was ahead in just under 40 constituencies.
The cynosure of Election 2026, however, was West Bengal, the eastern state where the Trinamool Congress was eyeing a fourth straight term in its only bastion. As counting progressed, power for the TMC seemed to be pulling away, further and further. The state’s political landscape was changing with the BJP, its campaign spearheaded by Amit Shah with Modi as its lodestar, pushing ahead in border, tribal and industrial regions, while the TMC held ground in parts of Kolkata and select rural strongholds.
According to the Election Commission, the BJP won or was ahead in 195 of the 294 seats, well ahead of the magic number of 147, power in the state finally within its grasp. The Trinamool Congress tally was 90.
In Assam, where the election was a hot-headed affair too, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma led the BJP to another straight victory with leads in 81 of the 126 seats, leaving the Congress far behind at 19. Congress state unit president Gaurav Gogoi faced his first electoral defeat in Jorhat.
West Bengal was one headline of Election 2026, the other was superstar Vijay, who defied the odds and the taint of a stampede during his rally in September 2025 in which 41 people were killed. That was clearly in the past as his party broke bipolar Dravidian politics and was poised to become the largest single party in Tamil Nadu with wins and leads in 109 of the state’s 234 seats. The ruling DMK that had started the morning at number three position was at 61 and the AIADMK at 44.
Chief Minister M K Stalin lost in Kolathur. According to Election Commission data, 15 other ministers were also lagging behind.
The choice, it appeared, was clear. Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar could well join the pantheon of MGR and Jayalalithaa as the stars who made it big in the political firmament.
In Kerala, Congress broke Left's grip, winning over 100 seats. In Puducherry, the All India NR Congress had won or was ahead in 11 of the 30 seats. The DMK stood at five and the BJP at four. The TVK made its presence felt with three.
In Assam, the BJP-led NDA is set to create history surging towards a landslide victory. Under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma, the party is on track to secure a record third consecutive term, with leads comfortably crossing the majority mark.
As the counting is underway, follow our live updates below:
Live Updates
- 4 May 2026 11:48 AM IST
Key ministers in Assam leading
Most of the ministers in the outgoing BJP-led Assam government are in the lead, as per trends shared by the Election Commission.
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president and Agriculture Minister Atul Bora is leading from Bokakhat constituency by more than 3,000 votes over his nearest Raijor Dal candidate.
Bora has secured 4,682 votes against Raijor Dal’s Hari Prasad Saikia, who has bagged 1,440 votes, at the end of the first round of counting out of the total 16 rounds.
Among other ministers in the outgoing government in the lead is Chandra Mohan Patowary from the Tihu seat.
The BJP leader is leading by 5,468 votes, securing 10,991 votes against the Congress’ Ratul Patowary’s 5,523 votes after the second round of counting, out of the total 19 rounds.
Patowary is the incumbent MLA from the Dharmapur constituency, which was abolished during the delimitation process.
Assembly elections for the 126-member House are being held for the first time after the redrawing of constituencies in 2023.
AGP leader and minister Keshab Mahanta is leading by more than 8,800 votes over his nearest rival Jiten Gour, an Independent candidate.
Another minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass of the BJP is in the lead in Bhowanipur-Sorbhog constituency by 658 votes after the fourth round of counting.
He has bagged 19,444 votes, while his nearest rival Manoranjan Talukdar of CPI(M) has secured 18,786 votes so far.
Dass had represented the Patacharkuchi seat in the outgoing Assembly, while Talukdar is the incumbent MLA from Sorbhog. The boundaries and nomenclature of both constituencies were changed during delimitation.
Finance minister Ajanta Neog is leading by more than 11,000 votes from her Golaghat constituency. Her nearest rival is the Congress’ Bitupan Saikia.
In Jagiroad constituency, Cabinet minister Pijush Hazarika (BJP) is leading by nearly 16,000 votes over Congress’ Bubul Das at the end of the fifth round of counting, out of the total 24 rounds.
His Cabinet colleague Ashok Singhal (BJP) is in the lead in Dhekiajuli seat by a margin of 3,230 votes against the Congress candidate, Batash Orang, at the end of the first round of counting.
Minister Ranoj Pegu (BJP) is also leading in Dhemaji constituency by more than 15,000 votes over Congress’ Sailen Sonowal after six rounds of counting.
However, Cabinet Minister Nandita Garolosa, who switched to Congress after being denied the BJP ticket from Haflong, is trailing, as per EC data.
She is behind by nearly 5,000 votes against the BJP candidate Rupali Langhtasa.
- 4 May 2026 11:31 AM IST
Latest leads: TVK surges ahead in TN; BJP crosses 190 in Bengal
Tamil Nadu
TVK 112
AIADMK+ 71
DMK+ 50
West Bengal
BJP+ 191
TMC+ 100
Kerala
UDF 84
LDF 41
BJP+ 2
Assam
BJP+ 98
Congress 25
AIUDF+ 2
Puducherry
NRC+ 17
TVK+ 4
Congress+ 3
- 4 May 2026 11:05 AM IST
Leads: UDF crosses majority mark in Kerala; BJP ahead in Assam
Tamil Nadu
TVK 106
AIADMK+ 78
DMK+ 48
West Bengal
BJP+ 181
TMC+ 110
Kerala
UDF 86
LDF 41
BJP+ 1
Assam
BJP+ 97
Congress 26
AIUDF+ 2
Puducherry
NRC+ 17
TVK+ 4
Congress+ 3
- 4 May 2026 10:58 AM IST
As DMK trails to third place, ''celebration'' tents dismantled at party headquarters
Visuals of dismantled tents at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters, marked a sombre Monday morning as early counting trends for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections placed the ruling party at a surprise third position.
As the DMK-led alliance trails, a starkly different scene is unfolding in Panaiyur and Neelankarai, the bastion of TVK. Security has been significantly tightened around the residence of actor-turned-politician Vijay in Neelangarai and the TVK party office in Panaiyur. Hundreds of enthusiastic supporters have begun to gather as the debutant party shows a strong performance, leading in 97 constituencies and locked in a neck-and-neck battle with the AIADMK, according to the Election Commission website.
The data currently suggests a tectonic shift in the state's political landscape, with several DMK heavyweights trailing in their respective segments. Police personnel have been deployed in large numbers across the capital to maintain order as trends continue to emerge from the 62 counting centres statewide.
- 4 May 2026 10:55 AM IST
Vijay leads in Perambur, Tiruchirappalli East
Vijay, actor-turned-politician and leader of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, opened up early leads in both Perambur and Tiruchirappalli (East) as vote counting progressed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
According to trends released by the Election Commission of India, Vijay was ahead by more than 2,990 votes in Perambur. In Tiruchirappalli (East), he was leading by over 3,299 votes, giving the TVK chief an early advantage in both constituencies.
- 4 May 2026 10:54 AM IST
Assam Congress face Gaurav Gogoi trails in Jorhat
Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi was trailing behind his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival Hitendranath Goswami by 4,132 votes in Jorhat Assembly constituency, Election Commission officials said on Monday.
The Lok Sabha MP from Jorhat had polled 9,875 votes so far, while his opponent and sitting MLA secured 14,007 votes, they said.
Gogoi is making his electoral debut in Assembly polls, while Goswami, a five-time MLA who has represented the constituency thrice as an AGP leader and twice as a BJP legislator, is seeking a third consecutive term.
- 4 May 2026 10:52 AM IST
Rangasamy, AINRC candidates lead in Puducherry
N. Rangasamy, who leads the All India N.R. Congress in the Union Territory, and several candidates from his party were ahead in multiple Assembly constituencies as counting of votes from the April 9 elections continued.
According to Election Commission figures, Rangasamy, contesting from two constituencies, was leading in Thattanchavady by a margin of 3,591 votes.
The Commission’s data also showed AINRC candidates R. Ravikumar, Vaiyapuri Manikandan, C. Aiyappan, E. Mohandoss, P. Rajavelu and P. R. N. Thirumurugan leading in Villianur, Muthialpet, Ariankuppam, Enbalam, Nettapakkam and Karaikal North respectively.
BJP candidates A. Namassivayam and T. K. S. M. Meenatchisundaram were also ahead in Mannadipet and Neravy T R Pattinam.
- 4 May 2026 10:48 AM IST
BJP’s Harshad Parmar leads in Gujarat’s Umreth bypoll
Harshadbhai Parmar opened up a strong lead over Congress rival Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan in the Umreth Assembly by-election in Gujarat, according to the latest counting trends on Monday.
Vote counting was being conducted under tight security at BJVM College in Vallabh Vidyanagar, located in Anand district. Election Commission data showed that after the ninth round, Harshadbhai Parmar had secured 33,745 votes, while Chauhan had polled 23,310 votes.
Four other candidates, including three Independents and one nominee from a lesser-known party, were trailing by a significant margin.
The bypoll was held following the death of sitting BJP MLA Govind Parmar. The BJP fielded his son Harshadbhai Parmar in what is his first major electoral contest.
Polling on April 23 recorded a voter turnout of 59.04 per cent across 306 polling stations in the constituency.
- 4 May 2026 10:47 AM IST
Bhabanipur: CM Mamata trailing
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trailing behind BJP's Suvendu Adhikari by 1,558 votes after second round of counting in Bhabanipur Assembly seat.
