Assembly Elections: 5 stars who made a difference

The Bharatiya Janata Party scripted history on Thursday, storming to power in Assam for the first time, dethroning the Congress, which also lost Kerala. Another interesting theme was re-election of Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee, two strong women who are now undisputed leaders of their states. The Congress, however, swept Puducherry. 

Here is a closer look at politicos who have emerged victorious in the electoral contest.

Jayalalithaa: Ends 32-year jinx

Poised for a successive term, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday said she was ‘indebted to the people’ because for the first time since 1984, a ruling party had returned to power in the southern state.

Although the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has won fewer seats than the earlier assembly election, Jayalalithaa is the undisputed star of the show. By repeating what party founder and her mentor M G Ramachandran did in 1984, she has won a fourth term since 1991.

In Aayirathil Oruvan (One in a Thousand), Jayalalithaa’s first film with MGR in 1965, the latter was a Robin Hood-type figure. MGR formally introduced Jayalalithaa to politics in 1982. She soon became MGR’s confidante and propaganda secretary of the party. She was the strategist of the party and was nominated to the state government’s high-level committee on popular noon-meal scheme to ensure kids stayed in government schools.

Her popularity grew so fast that there came a point when MGR got a niggling suspicion that she had become more powerful than him. After MGR’s death, she overpowered the Opposition within her party to become chief minister.

Jayalalithaa soon announced her decision to not marry as she ‘didn’t need a man to support her’. In her first term as CM, 1,00,000 women were given entrepreneurship training. To fight female infanticide, she launched ‘cradle baby scheme’: If families did not want girl child, they could leave babies in cradles placed outside social welfare centres, without any question being asked. The government adopted and brought up these babies. She also launched all-women police stations.

Her commitment to women’s causes won her a strong and loyal support base. In this election also, her decision to ban alcohol found massive support among women. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/ PTI Photo

V S Achuthanandan: 92-year-old crowd-puller

In Kerala, the situation was materially different. In India’s most literate state, the chatter was dominated by 92-year-old V S Achuthanandan.

Achuthanandan’s victory margin has increased steadily since 2001 when he contested from the Malampuzha Assembly constituency for the first time. A rousing orator, he has won from the same constituency this time. Achuthanandan is the only surviving comrade among those who walked out of undivided Communist Party of India to form the Communist Party of India-Marxist after the ideological schism shook the Indian Left in the early 1960s.

In 2011, the CPI-M’s refusal to give him a ticket provoked a protest by the cadre, forcing the leadership to backtrack. Undermined by his former protégé and now rival, Pinarayi Vijayan, VS had little say in choosing the candidates this time around.

Effectively, however, it’s VS who was the crowd-puller. It remains to be seen how the Left in Kerala will chose between Achuthanandan and Vijayan. Photograph: PTI Photo

Mamata: Winner today, kingmaker tomorrow?

After a spectacular show in West Bengal, when Mamata Banerjee was asked by a reporter if she could be a prime ministerial candidate in 2019, she said, “I don’t want to be anything more. I can play some role for my country because I love my motherland and I want to see my country develop. So, if I can play a small role, I will do that”.

Banerjee’s mercurial personality has been chronicled extensively. She joined the Congress party through its youth wing and contested her first Lok Sabha election in 1984 from Jadavpur, defeating CPI-M heavyweight Somnath Chatterjee. It was she who put together the Trinamool Congress single-handedly, no mean feat. Famous for her modest lifestyle, Mamata ran a scorching ground campaign, addressing more than 200 rallies in 40 days this time around.

Vikram Sarkar, a former civil servant, was a TMC MP from 1999 to 2004. As Banerjee was not fluent in English, Sarkar once suggested she should speak in Bengali in Parliament, citing the example of Jayalalithaa, who spoke only Tamil. ‘What?’ erupted Mamata, ‘you are comparing me with Jayalalithaa? She has corruption cases against her and you are suggesting that I should follow her?’ Vikram Sarkar was not allowed to meet her for the next few months. Later, Sarkar moved to Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

Himanta Biswa Sarma: A turncoat whom people loved

Considered a key man behind the BJP’s historic show in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congress strongman and Tarun Gogoi-baiter, on Thursday said the three-time chief minister was ruling ‘by default’. Sarma joined the BJP in August last year and was made the party’s convenor for the assembly polls. Sarma once used to be the right hand man of Gogoi.

Though Sarbananda Sonowal is the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Assam, it’s Sarma who is likely to emerge as the most influential politician in Assam. Replying to a question on what would be his role in the state after BJP’s victory, Sarma said, “Sonowal is projected as the chief minister and he will be the CM. Regarding my role, let the party decide. I am at their disposal.” Photograph: PTI Photo

Narayanaswamy: The man who saved Congress’ face

Puducherry, the smallest of the five assemblies might not be the most important but the local hero is V Narayanasamy, member of the Congress and former Union minister.

In the 30-member assembly, the Congress has replicated its alliance with Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

In Puducherry, the Congress was the senior partner, contesting 21 out of 30 seats. Narayanswamy is set to the next chief minister.

Little wonder than that he started the campaign for the Congress way back in February, criticizing the National Democratic Alliance’s rail budget for totally ignoring Puducherry.

He charged that although the United Progressive Alliance government had sanctioned Rs 178 crore for Karaikal-Peralam railway connectivity, the incumbent Rangasamy-led All India Namathu Rajyam Congress government had failed to take advantage of the scheme and consequently the project was dropped.

Because of the note struck by Narayanswamy, development has figured right on top of the manifestoes of all political parties -- barring the AINRC which had to resort to offering sops like washing machines to voters to get their vote.