Churn in the south: Vijay's rise in Tamil Nadu, Left loses its five-decade Kerala bastion

The assembly results redrew the political map of southern India. In Tamil Nadu actor Vijay's party challenged the Dravidian duopoly, while in Kerala the Congress-led UDF's return ended the Left's decades-old stronghold.

राहुल शर्मा 22 May 2026, 07:45 AM • 1 min read • 17 views

Churn in the south: Vijay's rise in Tamil Nadu, Left loses its five-decade Kerala bastion — Power equations shift across southern India's assemblies.

Chennai/Thiruvananthapuram, May 4. Southern India's politics broke several old equations this time. The assembly results in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have redefined the regional balance of power.

Tamil Nadu: enter Vijay

Popular actor Vijay's political innings challenged the decades-long dominance of the state's two main Dravidian parties. However, the 51-year-old fell about 10 seats short of the 118 majority mark in the 234-member assembly and will need allies to form a government.

Kerala: the Left's end

In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) led in around 98 of 140 seats, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was reduced to about 35. With that, a major bastion of five decades of Left politics collapsed.

National repercussions

Analysts note that after these results, no state in the country is left with a Left-led government — a historic turn in modern Indian politics. The southern shifts are expected to ripple into the national picture ahead of 2029.

Source: Assembly election results coverage

#Tamil Nadu #Vijay #Kerala #Congress #Politics