The media went to town gushing about four new options that the people of Tamil Nadu suddenly had to choose from, other than the AIADMK and the DMK. At least, in the past, there was a category called “Others,” when the parties in the state assembly were listed. This time, there will only be three names.

Did the media and the experts fail to accurately gauge the people’s mindset? Or, like the politicians, did they too get carried away by their own spins and headlines? Of particular interest is the case of Vijayakanth-led DMDK.

When the elections were announced, there were many who believed that he would be a key player. Parties desperate to strike up an alliance with him stopped short of calling him God. They, including his NDA partner, the BJP, shamelessly waited at his doorsteps while he kept everybody guessing.

When he finally chose the PWF, thanks to his now-famous “King or Kingmaker” slogan, the reaction within his party was swift. The problem was that people enjoyed his antics when he slapped his party men or spat at the media, but they had entirely different criteria when it came to choosing their Chief Minister.

Analysts now blame his choice of constituency. Why choose Ulundurpet instead of Rishivandhiyam, where he won the 2011 assembly polls? Detractors said that it was because Vijayakanth did nothing for his constituency and was sure that he would lose. His party had also underestimated the strength of his competitors in the constituency. When the results finally arrived, he was not even a runner-up.

The BJP is another party that believed in its own hype. As usual, all the senior cabinet members came down to Tamil Nadu to campaign, accompanied by translators, to get their message across to the masses. The party contested in more than 120 seats and drew a perfect blank. Even the big names – Tamilisai Soundararajan, H. Raja, Vanathi Srinivasan, and M. Chakravarthy – failed to make an impact.

The PMK’s very stylish multimedia-aided campaign was impressive. It looked more like US election rallies, but then, surprisingly, the party failed to score a seat even in its caste-based area. While the party’s chief ministerial candidate, Anbumani Ramadoss lost at Pennagaram, most others wouldn’t even get their deposits back. Viduthalai Chiruthai Katchi, and Naam Tamizhar party, despite all the noises they made, suffered the same humiliating fate.

So, instead of calling this a failure of the over-ambitious lot, the results of this election can be treated as a positive sign – of voters of Tamil Nadu getting smarter, and not falling for intellectually-challenged baits like caste, religion, language, and regional sentiments. Freebies are not half as bad as the enticements listed above.

Democracy still is thriving indeed!