PremiumEnding over a month's suspense, the N Rangasamy-led coalition cabinet in Puducherry will finally be sworn in by Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday.
According to a Puducherry Gazette notification, the BJP will get two berths in the cabinet and the NR Congress will get three.
A Namassivayam, AK Sai J Saravana Kumar from BJP and K Lakshminarayanan, C Djeacoumar, Chandira Priyanga from NRC will take oaths at Raj Nivas, the Governor's residence, at 2.30 pm.
This is the first time the saffron party is part of a ministry in the union territory.
The induction of Chandira Priyanga will mean that this is also the first time in 41 years that a woman member will be inducted into the Puducherry cabinet.
Late Congress leaders Renuka Appadurai was the last woman minister from the UT during 1980-83 and handled the education portfolio in the MDR Ramachandran (DMK)-led coalition ministry.
President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval to the list of cabinet members submitted by chief minister Rangasamy to Soundararajan earlier this week.
CM Rangasamy had submitted the list of members to be inducted, to Soundararajan, on Wednesday.
Though the NRC-led NDA had swept the 6 April assembly polls in the UT, cabinet formation was delayed as the saffron party initially insisted on a deputy CM post, but later settled for the post of the assembly Speaker.
Soon after, leading his alliance to a win, NRC founder Rangasamy was sworn in as the chief minister on 7 May while BJP's 'Embalam' R Selvam was elected unopposed as Speaker of the Puducherry assembly on 16 June.
The total strength of the ministry would now be six, including the CM. In the hustings, AINRC emerged victorious from 10 segments out of 16 seats it contested and is heading the NDA.
The BJP annexed six seats out of nine seats it aspired to garner. The NDA enjoys the support of three nominated members belonging to the BJP. The house has a total of 33 MLAs, including the three nominated ones.
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