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Updated March 19th, 2021 at 16:04 IST

NR Congress unveils list of Puducherry election candidates; ex-CM to contest from 2 seats

Former Chief Minister N Rangasamy featured prominently in All India NR Congress's list of candidates for the Puducherry Assembly election released on Friday. 

Reported by: Akhil Oka
NR Congress
| Image:self
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Former Chief Minister N Rangasamy featured prominently in All India NR Congress' list of candidates for the Puducherry Assembly election released on Friday. While NR Congress is leading the NDA alliance in the Union Territory by fielding 16 candidates, BJP and AIADMK have been allocated 9 and 5 seats respectively. Interestingly, Rangasamy is contesting from two constituencies- Thattanchavady and Yanam. 

The longest-serving CM of Puducherry, Rangasamy has held the post three times in a total tenure lasting 12 years. In 2011, he formed the NR Congress after leaving Congress and made a successful debut in the subsequent Assembly polls with his new party winning 15 seats. On March 16, BJP had announced its list of 9 candidates including ex-Congress MLAs such as A Namassivayam and A John Kumar. On the other hand, the opposition alliance consists of Congress, DMK and smaller allies. 

Congress' woes in Puducherry ahead of Assembly polls

The crisis for Congress escalated in Puducherry on February 17 when Leader of Opposition N Rangasamy and 13 other MLAs called on Raj Nivas and submitted a letter saying that the V Narayansamy-led government has lost its majority owing to the resignation of four Congress legislators- A Namassivayam, E Theeppainjan, John Kumar, Malladi Krishna Rao and the disqualification of N Dhanavelou. Namassivayam and Theeppainjan have already joined BJP. On February 18, N Rangasamy, AIADMK MLA A Anbalagan and nominated MLA V Saminathan met L-G Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan personally and reiterated their request for the current government to prove its majority on the floor of the House.

Consenting to this demand, the L-G directed that a special Assembly session will be summoned only for the purpose of conducting the trust vote. Mentioning that voting must take place by show of hands, she made it clear that the proceedings shall not be delayed beyond 5 pm at any cost. The government's hopes were dented further as Congress MLA K Lakshminarayanan and DMK legislator Venkatesan resigned on February 21.

On February 22, the Congress-led government in the Union Territory collapsed as it had the support of only 12 MLAs in the 26-member Puducherry Assembly. The Congress-led Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA) cited the nomination of three BJP MLAs, threats of the probe by Central agencies and luring of some legislators to hold the Union government responsible for the government's collapse. Subsequently, President's Rule was imposed in the Union Territory. Puducherry will go to the polls on April 6 while the election results will be declared on May 2.

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Published March 19th, 2021 at 16:04 IST

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