While actor turned politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) pushed the two established Dravidian political parties in Tamil Nadu out of power after 59 years, there was no such development in Puducherry, the Tamil-speaking Union Territory that is surrounded by Tamil Nadu on all sides but one. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has made it to the Chief Minister’s chair twice in a row for the first time in a long career, guiding the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a decisive victory; the alliance bagged 18 of the 30 seats.

“The people of Puducherry have again shown that they have faith in our government,” Rangasamy told the media on May 4 after collecting his election certificate. “In the last five years we have undertaken many welfare schemes and that is why people have given us this mandate,” he added.

He expressed happiness at the NDA’s margin of victory, stating that his government would strive to make life better for the people of Puducherry with new development schemes. He also congratulated TVK leader Vijay on his victory in Tamil Nadu.

No anti-incumbency for AINRC

As the results proved, there was no question of any anti-incumbency against Rangasamy and his party, the All India NR Congress (AINRC): the party had the highest strike rate of all political parties contesting in the Union Territory winning 12 of the 16 seats it contested this time (it contested 16 in 2021 too). It garnered nearly 23 per cent vote share, according to the Election Commission of India. In 2021, it had won only 10 seats.

However, ally BJP did not do as well as it did last time. It contested 10 seats, up from nine in 2021, but could manage to win only four, down from six in 2021. Back then, even as the results were coming in, the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) had announced the nomination of three members to the Assembly, taking the number of BJP MLAs to nine.

This time, the BJP had hoped to win all the seats it contested. With the three nominated members, it would have then been within reach of the half-way mark, but the plan did not work.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which once ruled Puducherry on its own, was downgraded to a minor ally this time, contesting two seats and winning one. The last NDA constituent, Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi, founded by “Lottery King” Santiago Martin’s son Jose Charles Martin, also contested two seats and won one.

Vijay’s TVK made minor inroads, winning two seats, while its ally, the Neyam Makkal Kazhagam (NMK), contested two and won one. The TVK had contested 28 of the 30 seats. As it contested a larger number of constituencies, the TVK garnered a higher vote share than many other parties (16.72 per cent).

Three Independents too won. Mahe (in Kerala) preferred to elect T. Ashok Kumar, while Nedungadu in Karaikal was won by V. Vigneswaran. The other Independent who won was Azhagu alias Azhaganantham, from Kadirgamam. Vigneswaran has already cast his lot with the BJP.

Ashok Kumar defeated contestants from the Congress (sitting MLA Ramesh Parambath), the Indian Union Muslim League, and the BJP. Azhaganantham convincingly defeated candidates from all three fronts but has preferred to remain independent as of now.

Strangely enough, Rangasamy contested in two constituencies—Thattanchavady and Mangalam—and won both. Although Thattanchavady had not deserted him in the recent past, he did not want to take the risk of contesting in just that constituency because the Congress Puducherry president and Member of Parliament, V. Vaithilingam, was also contesting from there. Rangasamy won the seats with margins of 4,441 and 7,050 votes respectively. He is expected to vacate the Mangalam seat in the next few days and make way for a byelection.

DMK-Congress spat

In the case of the DMK alliance, there was confusion from the very beginning. The buzz was that the Congress was demanding too many seats and did not have the clout it claimed to have. No deal was reached even after the date of withdrawal passed and the DMK and Congress blamed each other for this state of affairs.

According to some sources, the DMK MP and businessman Jagathrakshakan tried to break the business-politician cartel this time, but had to beat a hasty retreat after seeing the extent of cross-party linkages that exist in Puducherry. As a businessman with wide-ranging interests in the Union Territory, he apparently decided to stay away from the deal-making between the Congress and the DMK.

The face-off between the DMK and Congress, which insiders allege was staged to preserve the political status quo, saw the DMK contest in 13 seats. The Congress insisted on contesting in 22. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi contested in two seats. Although the Communist Party of India (Marxist) initially expressed interest, it withdrew from the alliance, realising the nature of the non-contest.

The DMK won five seats while the Congress won just one. The Congress, however, managed a higher vote share (17.54 per cent) than the DMK (13.74 per cent) but could not convert it into seats. The Congress, which was in power in Pondicherry from 2016, won only two seats in 2021. The reason: the BJP entered in 2021 and forced its way into the AINRC alliance.

On May 5, the BJP’s Puducherry president V.P. Ramalingame, the party’s election in-charge for the Union Territory, Mansukh Mandaviya, and State in-charge Nirmal Kumar Surana held a meeting with the elected MLAs. Home Minister A. Namassivayam was chosen as the BJP’s Legislative Party Leader in the Assembly.

Rift in alliance

After the 2021 election, the process of forming the Ministry was delayed considerably because the BJP insisted on the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Rangasamy refused to budge and insisted that there could not be such a post. This time around, the same problem could crop up, even though the BJP has not done as well as it was expected to.

Rangasamy’s “non-violent” confrontation with the Puducherry Lieutenant-Governor K. Kailashnathan is another contentious issue, which mirrors what popularly elected governments in New Delhi and Kashmir also face when they are not part of the BJP.

The problem began in July 2025 when the L-G made an appointment apparently without the Chief Minister’s knowledge. Rangasamy asked why he should be working in an office when the L-G did all the work he was supposed to do. He began a Gandhian protest by not attending office, along with his AINRC colleagues. The move led to fears of a rift within the alliance, but senior BJP leaders met Rangasamy and resolved the situation, following which he resumed official duties.

The party also began pressing for Statehood for Puducherry, a demand that Rangasamy repeated while sharing a stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign for the 2026 election. But Modi did not respond to his demand.

Even in Puducherry, one of the smallest administrative units in the country, it is certain that a clear mandate does not mean hassle-free governance from the word go. There is no honeymoon period either, as the people expect the Rangasamy brand of welfare governance to deliver on its promises from day one.

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