New Delhi, May 5 -- The most shocking election result in this cycle has come from Tamil Nadu, the largest state in south India and the fifth largest in terms of number of Lok Sabha MPs among states. The political debutant Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) formed by the film star Vijay has finished first in the state with 107seatsleaving behind the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led alliances. To be sure, the TVK has still fallen short of the halfway mark in the assembly of 234 and government formation will take some post-poll understanding. How does one explain this result? Here are four key data points which matter.

Not only does this show in the fact that a party or alliance has faile...