The NDA is hoping for a second straight term in Puducherry, where 30 seats are up for election today. The pitch, though, has been queered by the entry of the fledgling TVK, which has set up multi-cornered contests in many seats.
The constituents of the ruling NDA in Puducherry are the AINRC (All India NR Congress), BJP, the AIADMK, and the LJK (Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi). The Opposition INDIA bloc includes the Congress, the DMK and the VCK.
The TVK, headed by actor-politician Vijay, has fielded two sitting MLAs. Sai J Saravanan Kumar was also a minister in the AINRC-BJP government. The party has also fielded former legislators in four other constituencies.
The statehood issue has gained traction in this election with the BJP rejecting Chief Minister N Rangasamy’s demand for assurance on statehood and ejecting LJK from the NDA, citing that party chief Jose Charles Martin, son of lottery baron Santiago Martin, does not have roots in the former French colony.
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