File image of Puducherry chief minsiter V Narayanswamy. Image courtesy: Twitter@VNarayanasami
While campaigning for the election, the BJP highlighted central welfare schemes, Congress made a bid to regain the power it lost when the Narayanasamy-led government collapsed with the resignation of seven MLAs
File image of Puducherry chief minsiter V Narayanswamy. Image courtesy: Twitter@VNarayanasami
Puducherry, currently under President’s Rule after the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government collapsed in February, voted in the Assembly polls on 6 April.
The Puducherry Exit Poll 2021 will be published on Thursday at 7.30 pm. The assembly poll results will be declared on 2 May.
The four districts, consisting of 30 seats, voted in single-phase polls in the Union Territory. On the polling day, Puducherry witnessed a voter turnout of 81.64 percent. Yanam, the seat from where Rangasamy was contesting, registered a higher percentage of polling than other regions.
While the BJP has contested the polls in alliance with the AIADMK and AINRC, Congress has allied with the DMK. While AINRC fielded candidates in 16 of the total 30 constituencies the BJP contested in nine seats, while the AIADMK got five seats.
The Congress fielded candidates in 14 seats, DMK in 13 seats and the VCK and CPI contested from one constituency each. The alliance fielded an Independent candidate from one constituency. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) also contested the election from Puducherry.
While AINRC chief N Rangaswamy is likely to be the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate, the Congress-led Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance (SDPA) has not made its chief minister candidate’s name public as V Narayansamy did not contest the election this time.
During the election campaign, the BJP launched an attack against the ousted Narayanasamy government for not fulfilling the poll promises made during the previous elections.
"So many years of loyalty. Lifting slippers of his leader. Doing wrong translations to impress his leader. Still, no ticket. This clearly shows how much of a disaster his government has turned out to be," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
"NDA will work to make Best Puducherry. By Best, I mean Business Hub. Education Hub. Spiritual Hub. Tourism Hub," Modi said in a rally on 30 March.
While the BJP highlighted central welfare schemes, parties promised freebies such as ration, monthly grant of Rs 1,000 to housewives and loan waivers.
The election saw Congress making a bid to regain the power it lost when the Narayanasamy-led government collapsed with the resignation of seven MLAs, two of whom later joined the BJP.
In the Puducherry Assembly, 30 members are elected directly by the voters, while three are nominated by the central government.
In the 2016 Assembly polls, Congress had won 15 seats, AINRC bagged 8 seats, AIADMK got 4 seats, DMK won only 2 seats and the BJP did not win any seats.