PUDUCHERRY: CM and All India NR Congress (AINRC) leader N. Rangasamy on Thursday submitted his resignation as chief minister of Puducherry to Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan at Lok Bhavan. The resignation comes in the wake of the recent Puducherry Assembly election results, according to news agency PTI. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has retained power in the Union Territory. NR Congress won 12 seats and BJP four in the 30-member Puducherry assembly. AIADMK won one seat. On the opposition side, the DMK secured five seats and the Congress won one seat. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which made a notable debut in Tamil Nadu politics, also opened its account in Puducherry by winning two seats. Rangasamy secured 10,024 votes in the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency, winning by a margin of 4,441 votes after counting concluded on Monday. A veteran political figure in Puducherry, Rangasamy has served multiple terms as Chief Minister. He has held the post since May 2021 and previously led the Union Territory from 2001 to 2008 and again from 2011 to 2016. In 2011, he founded the All India NR Congress after parting ways with the Indian National Congress. His political career spans several decades marked by shifting electoral dynamics in Puducherry. In the 1970s, leaders such as V. Pethaperumal of the Indian National Congress were influential, while the 1977 elections saw the rise of the Janata Party. During the 1980s and 1990s, parties like the Janata Dal gained prominence, and Rangasamy emerged as an Indian National Congress representative by 1991. The political landscape continued to evolve through the 1996, 2001, and 2006 elections. In 2011, the AINRC strengthened its position under leaders like Ashok Anand. A 2019 bypoll was won by K. Venkatesan of the DMK, before Rangasamy returned to power in 2021 under the AINRC banner, marking another shift in Puducherry’s political history.
