New Delhi: Big political figures faced defeat in the latest round of assembly elections, with voters in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala “voting for change”, with more than 50 ministers – including two sitting chief ministers – from other states and one union territory sidelining several high-profile challengers.The shock was felt the most in West Bengal. A total of 22 ministers of the TMC government lost their seats, including CM Mamata Banerjee, who faced assembly defeat for the second consecutive time. Banerjee lost in Bhawanipur to Suvendu Adhikari, the same opponent who defeated her in a close contest in Nandigram in 2021.This defeat extends inside the cabinet. Thirteen cabinet ministers, including Banerjee, lost, as did five ministers of state with independent charge. Prominent names who failed to retain their seats include Swapan Debnath, Pradeep Kumar Majumdar, Bratya Basu and Arup Biswas.A similar dramatic churning was seen in Tamil Nadu also. CM MK Stalin lost the Kolathur seat, which he held since 2011, to TVK’s VS Babu. The election setback hit 14 other ministers in his cabinet, including Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.In Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan retained his Dharmadam seat, but 13 of his ministers lost, including Health Minister Veena George and Education and Labor Minister V Sivankutty.Other prominent losers were Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, who was defeated by BJP’s Hitendra Nath Goswami in Jorhat assembly constituency by a margin of 23,182 votes. Attempting to take on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while trying to maintain the political legacy of his father, three-time Assam CM Tarun Gogoi, he was unable to convert his parliamentary presence into victory at the state level.Overall, the results underlined a broad anti-incumbency wave, indicating that voters were willing to decisively reset the political equations across all regions.