Assembly Elections Results 2016 | The Five Big Winners and Losers

The five big winners and the five big losers in 2016’s game of votes.

Winners and Losers of 2016 (Photo: The Quint)

Big Winners

1. Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Photo: Reuters)

Mired in allegations of corruption in the Narada and the Sarada scams, the Trinamool Congress was believed to have started the election campaign on a weak footing. However, supremo Mamata Banerjee has won her second term in office by an even bigger margin of votes. In 2011, the TMC came to power with 184 seats, this time around, Mamata has well crossed the 200 mark. Belittling the Left and the Congress campaign, ‘Didi’ has shown who the boss of Bengal is.

2. Jayalalithaa

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa (Photo: Reuters)

No Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu has won a second term in over three decades. J Jayalalitha has made history of sorts by being sworn in as a second term Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Jaya’s AIADMK was locked in a neck and neck battle against the DMK-Congress combine with the exit polls predicting the Karunanidhi quagmire to oust Amma. Despite allegations of corruption and a 22-day spell in jail, Jaya has prevailed from Poes garden once more.

3. Sarbananda Sonowal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Assam CM designate Sarbananda Sonowal. (Photo: PTI)

After the BJP’s election debacle in 2011, where it won 5 of the 126 assembly seats, Sonowal was named the BJP state unit President in 2012. Call it the Modi wave or Sonowal’s popularity, 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw BJP’s best-ever performance in Assam as it won 7 of the 14 seats in the state. Sonowal was made Union minister for sports and youth affairs. He will now be Assam’s next CM.

4. Himanta Biswa Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma. (Photo: Facebook/Himanta Biswa Sarma)

Himanta was the master strategist behind the Congress win in 2011. The blue-eyed boy of the Gogoi family suddenly developed an aversion to Congress’s blue blood obsession. After ditching the Congress and joining the BJP in August 2015, Himanta has directed the BJP’s big win in Assam. Publicly stating that he was insulted by the Gandhis and the Gogois, Himanta has settled his scores. While many say he had his eyes on the CM’s seat, he will have to wait to get the top job.

5. Achuthanandan & Pinarayi Vijayan

VS Achuthanandan. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan, the 92-year-old veteran left leader has won his seat by a margin of over 20,000 votes. CPM leaders VS Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan have wrested power in Kerala by leading the LDF to win 84 of 140 seats in the state. Pinarayi Vijayan is being seen as the leader with a real hold on the state. While this is a big victory for the Left, the party remains undecided over who will be the CM face.

Big Losers

1.Tarun Gogoi

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi (Photo: The Quint)

The fatigue of three terms in office caught up with CM Tarun Gogoi. Despite battling internal dissensions and several downs in the past two years, the 81-year-old fought the election on a war footing. Many feel that had the party passed on the mantle to a younger face like Himanta Biswa Sarma, it could have been a face-saver for the party in his traditional bastion of Assam. This could well see the end of an era in the Congress with little hope of rehabilitation.

2. Badruddin Ajmal

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal. (Photo: PTI)

One of India’s richest politicians, Badruddin Ajmal is seen as a prominent Muslim face in Assam. This businessman-turned-politician, touted to play kingmaker in this election, had a massive loss of face by losing his own seat by over 8000 votes. Even though his party, the AIUDF has won 12 seats, the BJP was categorical of not forging any alliance with the AIUDF.

3. Oommen Chandy

Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy. (Photo: PTI)

Kerala is a revolving political door where no Chief Minister wins a consecutive second term. Despite this history and predictions of a Left win, Chandy said the loss was unexpected and that the results are a setback.

4. Suryakanta Mishra

Suryakanta Mishra, the Left’s CM face in West Bengal. (Photo: Suryakantha’s Facebook Page)

The left faced a massive drubbing in West Bengal holding power in only 28 seats. While the left would be particularly disheartened after ceding ground to the TMC in traditional strongholds, things got a lot worse when the Left’s CM face Suryakanta Mishra lost his Narayangarh seat by a huge margin of over 13,000 votes.

5. Vijayakanth

DMDK’S actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

In Tamil Nadu’s two-cornered contest, Captain Vijayakath’s DMDK allied with other smaller parties to give the state a third alternative to the Karuna-Amma equation. While there was a considerable hype around actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth’s political debut, he not only lost his own seat but the alliance failed to win a single seat with power firmly oscillating between the two Dravidian parties.