Around 150 gold coins bearing PM Modi's image seized in Puducherry ahead of assembly polls

Amid the election season, around 150 gold coins with PM Modi's image in the packets were seized in Puducherry's Thirunallar Constituency on Sunday. Soon after the coins were seized, authorities stated that a case has been registered and they have launched an investigation into it. 

The Union Territory of Puducherry has been reeling under immense political crisis in recent months, which began with the ouster of Lieutenant Governor (LG) Kiran Bedi in February and the Governor of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan given the additional charge as the LG of Puducherry. Thereafter, in a span of five days, the Congress-led government of Puducherry headed by chief minister V Narayanasamy collapsed after losing the majority in the legislative assembly and the trust vote on the floor.

Elections are scheduled in the UT on April 6 in a single-phase to elect members for the 30 constituencies of Puducherry in addition to three nominated seats, whereas the counting of votes will be held on May 2, along with the vote-counting of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Congress is looking to return to power in the UT again and will be fighting the election in alliance with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and some smaller parties, including the Left parties. BJP on the other hand is contesting the elections in alliance with AIADMK and All India NR Congress (AINRC). BJP has also announced the CM candidate as N Rangasamy the chief of AINRC, who has been a former chief minister of the UT and a popular political figure. He has been the Leader of opposition from 2016 to 2021 during the Congress rule. Meanwhile, former CM Narayanasamy has stated that BJP will ditch AINRC after the election while adding that Rangasamy should be cautious of BJP's intentions.