Puducherry Poised for NDA Return as Rangasamy Leads Thattanchavady

Puducherry is expected to witness the return of a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by N Rangaswamy, as early leads from the Election Commission showed the alliance leading on 11 seats in the 30-member Legislative Assembly.

As per the poll body's latest data, the All India NR Congress (AINRC) is leading on 9 seats, while its NDA ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is ahead on 2 seats. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is leading in 1 seat.

All India NR Congress (AINRC) is leading on 9 seats, among them N Rangasamy from Thattanchavady. Other candidates include VP Sivakolundhu, Vaiyapuri Manikandan, C. Aiyappan (also known as Mouttayappan), E Mohandoss, P Rajavelu, P. R. N. Thirumurugan, and Malladi Krishna Rao.

On the other hand, the Indian National Congress is leading on 1 seat, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is ahead on 2 seats.

The NDA, led by AINRC under N Rangaswamy, along with the BJP, is projected to secure between 16 and 20 seats as per exit polls. Key constituents of the alliance include AINRC, BJP, AIADMK, and Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK).

In their projections via exit polls, the pollsters on Wednesday projected the All India NR Congress-led (AINRC) Nationalist Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning Puducherry in the 2026 Assembly elections.

The exit poll by People Pulse has projected 16-19 Assembly seats in the NDA's corner, while placing Congress and allies with 10 to 12 seats of the total 30 Assembly seats in the Union Territory.

Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is being projected to win zero Assembly seats in Puducherry as per People Pulse. Moreover, other political parties are projected to win zero to two seats.

According to exit poll projections by Axis My India, the NDA is winning the Puducherry Assembly polls with 16-20 seats, while Congress and allies are projected to win six to eight seats.

Meanwhile, TVK is projected to win two to four Assembly seats in Puducherry as per Axis My India. Moreover, other political parties are projected to win one to three seats.

In Puducherry, the contest involved the NDA, which includes the AINRC, the BJP and the Congress-DMK alliance. Actor Vijay's TVK had also sought to make it triangular.

The electoral contest in Puducherry primarily featured the NDA and the Congress-DMK alliance, though actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) also attempted to make the contest triangular. TVK contested in alliance with Naam Tamilar Katchi (PNMK), alongside other parties such as PMK, NTK, and CPI(M).

Seat-sharing arrangements saw the NDA partners dividing constituencies with AINRC contesting 16 seats, BJP 10 seats, and AIADMK and LJK contesting two seats each.

On the other side, the INDIA bloc featured the Congress contesting 16 seats and the DMK contesting 14. VCK, despite being part of the SPA in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, chose to contest three seats independently in Puducherry after being offered only one.

The current term of the 30-member Puducherry Legislative Assembly is scheduled to expire on June 15. The counting of votes is underway on May 4, with final results expected later in the day.

- ANI