NDA gains majority, Cong suffers a major setback

IN FEBRUARY, THE UT WENT UNDER PRESIDENT’S RULE AS THE THEN V NARAYANASAMYLED GOVT WAS REDUCED TO A MINORITY AFTER SEVERAL MLAS RESIGNED

The All India N R Congress (AINRC)-LED National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a majority in Puducherry and will form the next government in the Union territory as latest trends suggested that it had crossed the half-way mark in the 30-member assembly.

As of 10 pm, the Election Commission of India (ECI) declared that AINRC had won 10 seats while its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had no presence in the region until now, had secured five seats and was leading in one.

The AINRC had contested in 16 seats and allotted nine seats to the saffron party. There are a total of 30 assembly seats plus three nominated seats with an electorate of 10.03 lakh in the Union territory.

“The BJP has retained Assam and is on its way to form an NDA government in Puducherry which is no mean feat,” BJP national general secretary and Tamil Nadu election in-charge CT Ravi said.

“BJP is the only party having its presence in every state. The Congress is losing relevance as a national party,” he added.

In February, the Union territory went under President’s rule after the V Narayanasamyled government was reduced to a minority as several legislators resigned from the assembly.

As per ECI data, AINRC founder and its chief minister candidate N Rangasamy contested on two seats. While he was leading by 12,646 votes in

Thattanchavady constituency, he secured 16,228 votes in the Yanam seat but was behind independent candidate Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok who polled 16,874 votes.

Rangasamy, a veteran politician, was formerly with the Congress before quitting in 2011 to float AINRC and become the chief minister after winning the assembly elections held that year.

Meanwhile, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won six seats while its alliance partner, the Congress, secured only two. Six independents were also declared winners by the poll body.

The Congress contested in 14 constituencies, seven fewer than the 2016 assembly polls. The remaining seats went to its allies DMK (13), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (1) and Communist Party of India (1).

Narayanasamy, who was forced to resign after his government lost the floor test in March, was not fielded this time.