The Hindu Morning Digest: May 5, 2026

Tamil cinema’s top actor C. Joseph Vijay’s fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Monday (May 4, 2026) made a stunning electoral debut, emerging as the single largest party with 108 seats in the 17th Tamil Nadu Assembly election. In doing so, it disrupted a nearly half-century-old bipolar landscape dominated by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Taking on multi-party fronts led by the two Dravidian majors, the TVK, powered almost entirely by Mr. Vijay’s charisma, fell just 10 seats short of the halfway mark in the 234-member House. The party secured an impressive 35% vote share, polling over 1.6 crore votes across regions, communities, and religions. Mr. Vijay himself won from both Perambur and Tiruchi East.

Riding high on an anti-incumbency against the 15-year-old Trinamool Congress government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the West Bengal Assembly elections with the party set to form the government in the State for the first time. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost the Bhabanipur seat to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by 15,105 votes.