New Delhi
The four States of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one Union Territory of Puducherry that recently went to polls accounted for a total of 824 Assembly seats
Of them, 39 seats were reserved for Scheduled Tribes — 19 in Assam, 16 in West Bengal and two each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Delimitation saw an increase of three seats in Assam (up from 16 seats).
Such has been the dominance of the BJP and NDA in Assam and West Bengal that it won all the 35 ST seats on offer in the two States.
In Assam, the BJP returned to power for the third straight term. In doing so, the BJP bagged 14 of the 19 ST seats while its NDA ally Bodoland People’s Front won the remaining five ST seats. Together, the alliance swept all the 19 ST seats of the State.
In West Bengal, where the BJP ousted the deeply entrenched Trinamool Congress from power after 15 long years with a landslide win, tribals enabled the saffron party a complete sweep. The BJP emphatically won all the 16 ST seats in the State.
Superstar Vijay’s TVK which trumped the established players DMK and AIADMK to make its maiden entry to power won one of the two ST seats in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK won the other.
In Kerala, as the Congress-led UDF ended the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF’s 10-year-rule with a massive win, it won both the ST seats in the State.
That the tribals went about giving their complete support to the BJP in Assam and West Bengal is in stark contrast to the situation in Jharkhand. In 2019, the BJP could win just three of the 28 ST seats in the State and went on to lose power to the JMM-led alliance. In 2024, it was worse for the BJP as it could win just one ST seat (won by JMM rebel Champai Soren).
While factors like pro-incumbency, strong anti-incumbency, SIR and polarisation worked in Assam and Bengal, in Jharkhand it has been the angst against the BJP over issues like its attempt to make amendments to the State tenancy acts (under Raghubar Das), and arrest of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The JMM’s maiden entry into the Assam poll arena, especially keeping the tea tribes in mind, saw it garner 1.16 percent votes that included a number two finish in a couple of seats.
