Polls 2014: Where the Modi wave failed to strike

The Modi wave that swept across the country failed to make any impact or influence voter sentiment during the Lok Sabha elections in at least three states. Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha stood apart with the local satraps emerging stronger even as the BJP-led alliance NDA made convincing wins in most other states.

In Tamil Nadu, the ruling AIADMK won 37 of the 39 eats while maintaining a brisk pace of voting, with the polling percentage crossing the 73 per cent mark in the single-phase Lok Sabha elections in the state.   

The election decimated hopes of 806 candidates, including some of the prominent candidates like 2G scam-accused Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja of the DMK as also Congress nominees Karti P Chidambaram, son of finance minister P Chidambaram, and Mani Shankar Aiyar.

The real fight, however, was between ruling AIADMK and DMK although the BJP-led six-party alliance tried to throw up challenge to the two Dravidian outfits.

In Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) stormed back to power for a record fourth consecutive term by crossing the magic figure of 74 seats in the 147-member assembly and achieving absolute majority.

The BJD was ahead in 116 of the 147 assembly seats, while the Congress won 15 and the BJP 12. Others led in four.

The BJD was also set to notch up its best-ever performance in the Lok Sabha, leading in 20 seats.

In West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has pushed rival Left Front further to the margins of state politics, winning 34 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. But the party would not get to play a role in government formation at the centre.

The three together have over 90 seats but with the Third Front not materialising and the NDA gaining a big majority, the numbers do not add up to any equation that would bring them to power at the centre.