Sometimes, the numbers don’t tell the story. Even after its defeat at the hands of the BJP in the West Bengal assembly elections last month, the Trinamool Congress’s voteshare stands at a respectable 40.80 per cent. It still has 80 legislators in the state assembly and 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha, making it the fourth-largest party in Parliament. In defeat, though, the party seems to be facing an existential crisis in both Kolkata and Delhi.

An exodus of leaders to the BJP from other parties, before and after elections, has been seen across states. In fact, some of the BJP’s most prominent regional leaders — be it Suvendu Adhikari in West Bengal or Himanta Biswa Sarma in........

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