The Congress-led INDIA bloc has all but collapsed in Puducherry, with the party’s high command failing to intervene even after it became clear that local leaders of constituent parties were unable to resolve alliance-related issues.
As a result, the INDIA bloc constituents are locked in election battles in multiple seats, potentially paving the way for Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to secure an unprecedented second term. His party, the All India N.R. Congress, is allied with the BJP and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Despite Rangasamy’s vehement protests, the BJP has also included Jose Charles Martin, a man with very deep pockets, and his three-month-old party, the Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi (LJK), in the alliance. BJP leaders, even from Tamil Nadu, are enthusiastically campaigning for Charles Martin.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which has a good base in Puducherry, was the first party in the Congress alliance to protest openly. The VCK has decided to go on its own. “The deadline to withdraw nominations ended on March 26 at 3 pm. In this situation, the Congress’s approach is not only affecting the VCK but is also calling into question the alliance’s overall chances of victory. Therefore, with no other option, we are announcing the official candidates for the three constituencies for which the VCK has filed nominations,” Thol. Thirumavalavan, founder and president, VCK, said.
He did not stop there. Thirumavalavan, who has always held that Congress was the alternative to the BJP at the national level, refused to even name the party while canvassing for votes: “Over the past five years, the BJP alliance has been destroying Puducherry. We urge the secular-minded people of Puducherry to overwhelmingly support the VCK candidates to defeat the BJP alliance and once again establish a government in Puducherry that upholds social harmony and prioritises development, ensuring their victory,” he said.
The VCK said that Pe. Ariyaputhri alias Arimaathamaathilan will contest from Oosudu, P. Amuthavan from Nettapakkam, and Pushpalatha from Uzhavarkarai. Very clearly, the INDIA bloc votes will be split in these three constituencies. It is likely that the National Democratic Alliance candidates will win in all three.
The problem began several weeks ago when seat negotiations began between the Congress and the DMK. The DMK insisted that it was the larger party because it had six MLAs in the Assembly. “The Leader of the Opposition is from the DMK. So, how can the Congress claim that it is the bigger party,” asked a DMK leader.
The Leader of the Opposition, the 59-year-old R. Siva, said that it was a fact that Congress was a bigger party before 2021. That scenario has changed. “I asked my partymen to file nominations first because we should not miss auspicious days. They filed but assured me that they will withdraw when needed,” he told the media. DMK candidates filed nominations in as many as 18 seats, but later withdrew on his request.
‘In the interest of the alliance’
It was only on the last date of withdrawal of nominations that the Congress and the DMK managed to reach an agreement. A DMK leader said that in the interest of the alliance, the DMK agreed to play second fiddle and accepted 14 constituencies while the Congress took 16 constituencies.
From the DMK’s quota, it allotted the Uzhavarkarai constituency to the VCK. “In that constituency, the Congress party has now fielded as its candidate a person affiliated with the RSS and BJP, who joined the Congress party just one or two weeks ago after leaving the BJP. Even after that constituency was allocated to the VCK, the Puducherry Congress is refusing to withdraw him. As a result, it remains unclear whether the VCK has a constituency in the Congress alliance or not,” Thirumavalavan said.
The Congress eventually took action, albeit belatedly. The Puducherry unit removed its candidate for Karaikal South, A.V.S. Shakthivel Prabhu, who had refused to withdraw his nomination. However, since he has filed both the “A” and “B” forms, he continues to be recognised as the party’s official candidate. It remains unclear how the local Congress leadership will handle the situation.
The Left parties have flayed the Congress and the DMK for the problems in Puducherry. Both Communist Party of India’s secretary Saleem and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader K. Balakrishnan, in separate press conferences, announced their decision to contest on their own. The CPI(M) said that it was contesting two seats in Puducherry and that it would support an Independent candidate in Mahe, an enclave surrounded by Kerala. The CPI said that it was contesting one seat in Puducherry. It said that it would support the CPI(M) in other seats. It would also support the VCK in the three seats it is contesting, while also backing candidates of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist).
In Mahe too, there is a contest between two major constituents of Kerala’s United Democratic Front, the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Current MLA and Congress leader Ramesh Parambath will face off against IUML candidate Mohammed Sameel Kasim. In the 2021 election, Ramesh had defeated the Left Democratic Front-backed Independent candidate N. Haridas by a meagre margin of 300 votes. Advocate T. Ashok Kumar is the LDF candidate this time.
The people of Puducherry have a soft corner for Chief Minister Rangasamy. But five years of indifferent governance and multiple stand-offs with the BJP-appointed Lieutenant Governor Kailashnathan have not led to any significant development in Puducherry. Rangasamy hopes that the recent cash dole that he had given, plus the divided opposition, will propel him to the seat for a third time.
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