Star candidates' fortunes diverge in assembly elections

The assembly elections in various Indian states, particularly West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, have seen active participation from film stars and celebrities. However, as vote counting progresses, the electoral fortunes of these star candidates are showing mixed results.

West Bengal: Several Tollywood faces trailing
In West Bengal, multiple celebrity candidates are facing tough contests. In Baranagar, actress Sayantika Banerjee, contesting on a Trinamool Congress ticket, is trailing behind BJP's Sajal Ghosh . In Maniktala, TMC's Shreya Pandey is trailing behind BJP's Tapas Roy . In Shyampukur, TMC's Shashi Panja is trailing , while in Beleghata, TMC's Kunal Ghosh is trailing by 330 votes .

However, there are some bright spots. In Karimpur, TMC candidate and actor Soham Chakraborty is leading comfortably with a margin of over 18,000 votes . In Shibpur, BJP candidate and actor Rudranil Ghosh is leading by a significant margin of nearly 5,800 votes . In Sonarpur Dakshin, BJP's Rupa Ganguly is leading .

The overall trend in West Bengal shows the BJP crossing the majority mark, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule in the state .

Tamil Nadu: Vijay's TVK emerges as game-changer
In Tamil Nadu, actor Thalapathy Vijay's political debut has created a major upset. His party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has emerged as the single-largest party, leading in over 100 seats as counting continues . Vijay himself is leading comfortably in both constituencies he contested—Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur.

If the trend holds, Vijay is poised to become the first non-DMK, non-AIADMK chief minister of Tamil Nadu since 1967.