Opinion | BJP In Bengal, Vijay In Tamil Nadu: A Story Of 'Underdogs'

Updated: May 04, 2026 19:20 pm IST Published On May 04, 2026 19:20 pm IST Last Updated On May 04, 2026 19:20 pm IST

Published On May 04, 2026 19:20 pm IST

Last Updated On May 04, 2026 19:20 pm IST

A certain breed of liberals has always tried to convince the masses that the lotus is a poisonous flower. Now, they might seek to persuade the same masses that the whistle symbolises eve-teasing at its worst. 

Facile remarks aside, this round of assembly elections has delivered two tectonic shifts in just one day. A few weeks ago, the authors had written about the five Presidency districts of West Bengal that made Mamata Bannerjee, and asking whether the same five districts would be her undoing. Exactly that, and more has been proven today as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) obliterates TMC bastions and storms to power in Bengal for the first time in independent India's history. A few thousand kilometres down south, superstar Vijay has shocked virtually every self-confessed political pundit as his brand new party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), decimates Dravidian bastions in Tamil Nadu.

Both the astonishing performances destroy long-held political beliefs. Both are victories carved against all odds. Both were underdogs that refused to blink. And both have been beneficiaries of the........

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