The Narendra Modi juggernaut may have decimated the Congress and most regional players, making deep inroads even in West Bengal, but three regional satraps managed to stay afloat.
None of them had any understanding or alliance with the BJP. Of this two — Naveen Patnaik in Odisha and Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh — fought alone while DMK’s M K Stalin fought the election in alliance with the Congress.
While the DMK decimated the umbrella alliance of AIADMK and BJP in Tamil Nadu, YSR Congress of Jaganmohan Reddy ensured that the BJP failed to open its account in Andhra Pradesh.
In Odisha, the BJD led by Naveen Patnaik will form the government for a fifth consecutive term following its stellar performance in the Assembly polls while it also managed to win 13 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats.
In the Assembly polls, the BJD won 113 seats while the BJP surged to second place with 23 seats. The Congress managed a mere 9 seats.
In Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress routed Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Jaganmohan Reddy’s party won a stunning 22 of 25 Lok Sabha seats while the TDP had to be content with three seats. The BJP, which was never a major player in the state, managed to get less than one percent vote.
In the Assembly polls, the YSR Congress won 150 of 175 seats. The BJP, which contested alone, got less than one percent vote while the ruling TDP with 24 seats was placed second.
The most spectacular was the victory of Stalin-led DMK, which was leading in 23 seats, with its partner the Congress leading in 8 out of the 38 seats. The DMK-Congress got around 45% votes while the BJP managed to get 3.5% votes.
The performance of these three leaders clearly proved that in states where there was a strong regional leader and a vibrant party, the national parties were sufficiently checked. Despite the saffron surge nationwide, the BJP could not make deep inroads there.