With the BJP on track to notch a remarkable first-ever win in West Bengal by ousting the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), the saffron party and its NDA allies are now in power in 22 state Assemblies, up from 21 at the end of 2025.

Though counting is underway across four states and one UT, the BJP is en route to retaining power in Assam, while ally AINRC is holding on to Puducherry. However, the NDA has struggled to make inroads in Kerala, though it looks set to become the principal Opposition in Tamil Nadu.

On the Opposition front, the INDIA bloc parties are set to hold power in six states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka and now Kerala. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) looks set to return to power in Kerala after a decade under the Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s rule. Kerala was the last remaining Left stronghold across the country. 

Of the other Opposition parties, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will begin looking to defend its Punjab bastion in 2027 and the Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) holds Mizoram, poll debutant Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is on course to displace INDIA bloc member DMK from Tamil Nadu, though it remains to be seen if Vijay’s party will alone cross the majority mark or require external support to form the government.

The DMK had been a major INDIA bloc ally, including in Parliament, and had been raising national issues to take on the BJP, ranging from language imposition to delimitation. Though its impending loss in Tamil Nadu – with the party dropping behind even the AIADMK in its seat tally – has brought the INDIA bloc down by one state, the Congress’s expected win in Kerala has evened out the loss.

In all, an Opposition party is now set to be in power in 9 states and UTs.

Since 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led BJP first came to power at the Centre, the BJP and its allies have made significant gains across the country, including by winning for the first time in several states and striking key alliances in others.

In 2014, the NDA was in power in 16 states, the current constituents of the INDIA bloc in 10 states, and other regional outfits in another 5. By 2019, the NDA had expanded to 18 states while the INDIA bloc fell to 6, though regional parties managed to hold on to 6. At the end of 2024, the NDA grew to 18 states and the INDIA bloc remained at 6, and regional parties at 5. Now, only 3 states are ruled by non-BJP, non-INDIA bloc parties.