In this India Spend, Rithika Kumar and Swapnil Bhandari, Senior Analyst and Associate at IDFC Institute present their analysis of the electoral results in Assam, Kerala, West Bengaland Tamil Nadu. 

Excerpts from the article are below:

"Three factors worked for the BJP in Assam........a wave of anti-incumbency; pre-poll alliances worked and Infiltration and corruption-vexed voters"

"In West Bengal, Mamata gets a long rope; Congress alliance damages Left..........Today’s results make it clear that none of the recent incidents–a sting operation or a financial scam or the collapse of a flyover in Kolkata–affected TMC’s fortunes.This is testimony to the fact that West Bengal’s voters allow their leaders to make mistakes."

"Jayalalithaa’s dominance continues but declines in Tamil Nadu: The victory of J Jayalalithaa’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (AIADMK) signals her dominance. AIADMK has now won the state four times under Jayalalithaa: 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2016. However, the gap between the AIADMK alliance and the alliance headed by runner-up DMK is closing: They were separated by 218 seats in 1991; that’s down to 37 seats in 2016, indicating a decline in popular sentiment."

"Kerala continues history of voting out incumbent governments: Approximately 20 million voters voted in Kerala to decide the fate of 140 legislators in the state assembly (there were 1,203 candidates).The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front defeated the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) with a clear majority, 91 seats to 48 in the 140-seat assembly. The UDF had won 72 seats in 2011.The BJP, which contested 51 seats, won its first seat ever with O Rajagopal’s victory in Nemom constituency."

Read the entire article here.