The politics of the Union Territory of Puducherry, consisting of four districts (four of the five former enclaves of the French colony in India), scattered over three Indian states is as complex as its geography. And so intense is the battle for Puducherry's 15th Legislative Assembly as over ten lakh voters exercise their franchise in 30 assembly seats spread across its four districts (Puducherry, Mahe, Yanam and Karaikal) on Tuesday (6 April).
In Puducherry, the electoral war is between two alliances. A group of four political parties led by the Congress is pitched against a combination of three parties headed by the All India NR Congress (AINRC). The BJP and AIADMK are aligned with the AINRC while the DMK along with Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and CPI are fighting together with Congress.
The sequence of events preceding the assembly elections made the contest even more interesting as Congress continued to cry hoarse over the untimely fall of its sole government in the South after the resignations of its MLAs. Former Congress Chief Minister V Narayanasamy accused both the BJP and the AINRC of hatching a conspiracy to bring down his government. The Congress believed the outcry would help it cash in on the sympathy factor.
But the BJP alliance mounted a counter-attack during the poll campaigns highlighting the misgovernance of the Congress-DMK alliance, citing the promises that the Narayanasamy government failed to fulfill. The sharpest salvo came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a public rally, who accused him of serving the Congress high-command and not the people of Puducherry.
The fight is so tight that both the alliances have been exercising all cautions to avoid any public backlash. Interestingly, Congress announced no Chief Minister face for the Union Territory and dropped Narayanasamy’s name from its candidate list, who later claimed that he would not take the CM’s mantle even if the Congress-led alliance would be voted to power. Though, he extensively campaigned for the party and supervised the election management in Puducherry. Many believe that Narayanasamy paid the price of upsetting Rahul Gandhi while translating a fisherwoman’s complaint incorrectly in his own favour during an election tour. But the move could also be a part of the Congress’ strategy.
Similarly, the BJP-led Centre, even before the poll bugle was sounded (or the Narayanasamy govt collapsed), removed Kiran Bedi as the lieutenant governor (L-G) of Puducherry. Maybe since the Narayanasamy government had been accusing the L-G of obstructing its welfare programmes and the BJP knew that the Congress would further rachet up the issue during the elections blaming Bedi for its failures.
Notably, after Karnataka, in its southern sojourn, the BJP is eyeing a big opportunity in Puducherry. A non-starter in the Union Territory till the 2016 elections (when 29 out of its 30 candidates failed to save their deposits), the BJP managed to get a toehold in the assembly through three nominated MLAs and forced the Congress-led government to throw in the towel at the fag end of its tenure.
This time the saffron party has not only struck an alliance with the former Chief Minister N Rangasamy-led AINRC and the AIADMK but also has got 9 out of the 30 seats to contest, while All India NR Congress has fielded its candidates on 16 seats and the AIADMK is fighting on 5 assembly seats.
The Congress, however, is contesting fewer seats in this elections as compared to 2016, conceding 13 constituencies to the DMK and one each to the CPI and the VCK. Then, out of the 15 seats in its share, the Congress is fighting on 14 seats only, leaving the Yanam constituency uncontested, from where AINRC leader N Rangasamy is in the fray.
In the 2016 elections, Congress had contested 21 seats winning 15 constituencies, while the DMK bagged 2 out of 9 seats it contested. Last time, the NDA constituents fought the elections separately with the All India NR Congress and the AIADMK walking away with 8 and 4 seats respectively, while the BJP drew a blank.
This year, both the alliances have been claiming to win the elections in Puducherry. But the BJP seemed determined to make inroads running a high-voltage campaign in all four geographically separate districts with leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda holding several public rallies.
During his poll campaignings, PM Modi promised to make Puducherry a business, education, spiritual and tourist (BEST) hub. The BJP has been trying to woo the voters on the development plank, assuring a special Union territory status and a revised 70:30 project-cost-sharing between the Centre and the UT.
The Congress, meanwhile, has promised Puducherry statehood, loan-waivers from the Centre and a place in the Central Finance Commission. But the voters know that to keep these words, the party needs to have its government at the Centre.
The opinion polls have predicted a victory for the NDA in Puducherry with former CM and AINRC leader N Rangasamy taking over as the next Chief Minister. Three-time Chief Minister N Rangasamy is contesting from two constituencies (Thattanchavady and Yanam) in the elections. Once a Congress leader, Rangasamy was sworn in as the CM in 2001 and 2006 and served till 2008. Then he quit the Congress in 2011 to float All India NR Congress (AINRC) and, the same year, became the CM for the third time.
Curiously enough, Rangasamy has declared himself as the CM face, even though the BJP never endorsed it. While the issue remains to be resolved between the two allies, everything depends on the results on May 2.
—Om Tiwari is a Delhi-based journalist and columnist. The views expressed are personal
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