Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today announced its first list of nine candidates for the upcoming Puducherry Assembly elections scheduled for April 9.
According to the list, P M L Kalyanasundaram has been fielded from Kalapet, while GNS Rajasekaran will contest from Thirunallar. Senior leader A Namassivayam has been nominated from Mannadipet, V P Ramalingame from Rajbhavan, and A Johnkumar from Mudaliarpet.
Other candidates include R Selvam from Manavely, T K S M Meenatchisundaram from Neravy-T R Pattinam, and A Dineshan from Mahe. E Theeppainthan has been chosen to contest from Oussudu, a constituency reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
The announcement comes a day after the ruling All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) finalised a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP and its allies for the Union Territory elections. As per the arrangement, the AINRC will contest 16 of the 30 seats, while the BJP will field candidates in the remaining 14 constituencies.
The agreement was reached following discussions between Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy and BJP leader and Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a private hotel on Friday.
Sources indicated that the BJP has allocated two seats each to its allies—the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Lakshia Jananayaga Katchi (LJK)—from its share.
Despite initial reservations from Rangasamy over including the LJK, led by Jose Charles Matin, in the alliance, he eventually agreed following talks with central leadership. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the AINRC contested 16 seats and secured victory in 10, while the BJP won six out of the nine seats it contested.
The AIADMK, which fielded candidates in five constituencies, failed to win any. The Union Territory will go to polls in a single phase on April 9 for all 30 Assembly seats, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
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