CM N Rangasamy wins Thattanchavady seat as NDA leads in Puducherry; AINRC ahead in trends

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like N Rangasamy, the incumbent chief minister of Puducherry and All India NR Congress (AINRC) leader, has been declared the winner in the Thattanchavady assembly constituency. He secured victory by a margin of 4,441 votes after the votes were counted in the union territory on May 4 for the assembly elections. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy retains his winning streak in 2026. (PTI)AINRC won four seats, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won one after the seventh round of vote counting at 1 pm, as per the Election Commission (EC). The elections were concluded in the union territory on April 9. Follow the live election result trends of Puducherry here. Rangasamy got a total of 10024 votes to win the Thattanchavady constituency. His closest competitor, E Vinayagam of Neyam Makkal Kazhagam, managed 5,583 votes. Independent candidate K. Sethu (Sethuselvam) received 3,984 votes, finishing 6,040 votes short of the winner. He left behind veteran Indian National Congress leader Ve Vaithilingam, who secured 2,990 votes, trailing the winner by 7,034 votes. N Rangasamy is a veteran political leader in Puducherry and has been serving as Chief Minister of the Union Territory since May 2021. He has held the Chief Minister's post for multiple previous terms, first from 2001 to 2008, and again from 2011 to 2016. In 2011, he founded the All India N.R. Congress after breaking away from the Indian National Congress. His political journey spans several decades of shifting electoral trends 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 played a role, and Rangasamy himself emerged as an Indian National Congress representative by 1991. The political scene continued to evolve through the 1996, 2001, and 2006 elections. In 2011, AINRC's presence strengthened under leaders like Ashok Anand. Later, K. Venkatesan of the DMK won a 2019 by-election, before Rangasamy returned to power in 2021 under the AINRC banner, marking another shift in Puducherry's political landscape. Follow the live ECI election results 2026 here. Puducherry is expected to witness the return of a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by N Rangaswamy, as early leads from the Election Commission showed the alliance leading on 23 seats in the 30-member Legislative Assembly. As per the poll body's latest data, the AINRC is leading on 9 seats, while its NDA ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is ahead on 2 seats. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is leading in 1 seat. AINRC is leading on 9 seats, among them N Rangasamy from Thattanchavady. Other candidates include VP Sivakolundhu, Vaiyapuri Manikandan, C. Aiyappan (also known as Mouttayappan), E Mohandoss, P Rajavelu, P. R. N. Thirumurugan, and Malladi Krishna Rao. On the other hand, the Indian National Congress is leading on 1 seat, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is ahead on 1 seat. The NDA, led by AINRC under N Rangaswamy, along with the BJP, is projected to secure between 16 and 20 seats as per exit polls. Key constituents of the alliance include AINRC, BJP, AIADMK, and Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK). In their projections via exit polls, the pollsters on Wednesday projected the AINRC-NDA winning Puducherry in the 2026 Assembly elections. The exit poll by People Pulse has projected 16-19 Assembly seats in the NDA's corner, while placing Congress and allies with 10 to 12 seats of the total 30 Assembly seats in the Union Territory. In Puducherry, the contest involved the NDA, which includes the AINRC, the BJP and the Congress-DMK alliance. Actor Vijay's TVK had also sought to make it triangular. The electoral contest in Puducherry primarily featured the NDA and the Congress-DMK alliance, though actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) also attempted to make the contest triangular. TVK contested in alliance with Naam Tamilar Katchi (PNMK), alongside other parties such as PMK, NTK, and CPI(M). Seat-sharing arrangements saw the NDA partners dividing constituencies with AINRC contesting 16 seats, BJP 10 seats, and AIADMK and LJK contesting two seats each. On the other side, the INDIA bloc featured the Congress contesting 16 seats and the DMK contesting 14. VCK, despite being part of the SPA in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, chose to contest three seats independently in Puducherry after being offered only one. The current term of the 30-member Puducherry Legislative Assembly is scheduled to expire on June 15. The final results are expected later in the day. Debapriya Bhattacharya is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times. He started his career in 2022, working in newsrooms in beats like education, US news, trending stories, and entertainment. In his new role in the lifestyle desk, he seeks to deliver a balanced blend of research-driven reporting and creative storytelling from health and recipes to art and culture. Science, philosophy, food and pop culture are what pump his veins and help bring heart to his stories. Debapriya tries to see out subjects that will allow him and readers to explore new frontiers and improve the quality of life for all. The explorations can be both external and internal, as thoughts seek to be as chaotic as the greater universe. As a citizen of the world, Debapriya has been fascinated by the lives of people across the globe throughout time. His curiosity leads him to explore new linguistic and cultural landscapes to broaden his horizons and deepen his understanding of global narratives. Beyond the newsroom, Debapriya loves to participate in debate and theatre, spaces that he considers to be holy grounds for nuance and self-expression. A graduate from Ashutosh College, University of Calcutta, Debapriya completed his Master's degree from the same university in 2022. An ambiverted bibliophile, he loves his solitude as much as he adores stimulating conversations. And despite his reverence for tech, libraries continue to be his favourite place for research.Read More