In Puducherry, Chief Minister N Rangasamy’s AINRC-led NDA crossed the majority mark on Monday, securing another term in office in the 30-member Assembly and giving the ruling alliance a clear enough verdict in a Union Territory famous for narrow margins and restless loyalties.
The majority mark was 16, and live reports placed the NDA past that line, with AINRC remaining the principal pillar of the alliance and the BJP adding crucial support. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Puducherry voters, saying the people had granted the NDA “another term in office”, and praised NDA workers for staying among the people and explaining the alliance’s “vision and track record”.
Rangasamy, the old survivor of Puducherry politics, retained Thattanchavady by 4,441 votes, anchoring the ruling alliance’s claim of continuity. The result was also shaped by a record turnout, about 89.87%, suggesting that the electorate had turned out in unusual numbers not to overthrow the government, as the Opposition had hoped, but to reorder the margins around it.
The day also delivered several smaller earthquakes. Jose Charles Martin, founder of the Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi and son of lottery businessman Santiago Martin, won Kamaraj Nagar, defeating Congress’s P K Devadoss. Martin polled 16,592 votes against Devadoss’s 10,205, giving the NDA ally a high-profile entry into the Assembly. The seat had earlier been with the BJP, making the transfer within the alliance politically neat, if not exactly ordinary.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, actor Vijay’s new party, made its Puducherry debut with two wins. B Ramu won Manavely, defeating outgoing Speaker Embalam Selvam of the BJP, while A K Sai J Saravanan Kumar won Thirubuvanai by 701 votes. In several other seats, TVK candidates polled enough votes to exceed or disturb winning margins, suggesting that Vijay’s party may not yet control the house but has already learned how to shake the furniture.
The Opposition did find flashes of resistance. DMK’s Vignesh Kannan won Raj Bhavan by just 287 votes against BJP’s V P Ramalingame. DMK also wrested Nellithope from the BJP, while Congress won Oussudu. Independents produced their own rebellions: V Vigneswaran defeated the sitting AINRC MLA Chandrapriyanga in Nedungadu, and T Ashok Kumar won Mahe.
