Exit polls released after the last phase of voting in West Bengal yesterday hand clear cut wins in 3 States and a UT that went to the polls, and a tight race in another. Among the five regions that had elections, exit polls suggest that Assam, Kerala, and West Bengal will be retained by the incumbents, while there will be a change of guard in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Three of the five exit polls give a slight edge to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, while the other two show have numbers for the ruling party and the BJP that are too close to call. The polls also predict a further erosion of the Left in its former stronghold and also a much-diminished Congress. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK is shown as sweeping to victory with a wide margin by all five polls. Kerala is set to make history, if we go by the exit polls, with the consistently anti-incumbent State returning the sitting LDF government to power. The polls also predict that the BJP may increase its tally in the State. The BJP alliance seems set to retain Assam, holding on to seats numbering close to its current tally. It is likely that the Union Territory of Puducherry will flip from the UPA to the NDA.

The massive political showdown between the BJP and the TMC in West Bengal during the campaign seems to pale into insignificance during the second wave of the coronavirus currently sweeping the country. The effort that the BJP put into wresting the State from the TMC may also come to nought despite the role the massive campaign rallies may have had in causing the second wave.

The ups and downs of the nation's major political alliances amid the ongoing pandemic is what makes the story important.

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