Puducherry CPI launches election campaign amid standoff in the INDIA bloc

The Communist Party of India (CPI), a constituent of the INDIA bloc, on Thursday (February 19, 2026) launched its campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in Puducherry from the Thattanchavady constituency. The party’s candidate was the runner-up in this segment in the 2021 polls.

Party workers led by CPI secretary A.M. Saleem visited commercial and residential areas, starting from Pudhupet on Lawspet Main Road, and distributed pamphlets to voters, seeking their support to “save” the Thattanchavady constituency – currently held by Chief Minister and AINRC founder N. Rangasamy – from “neglect.”

The pamphlets listed out various issues confronting the people and the lack of development initiatives in the constituency. The party has decided to cover all the wards in the coming days for the distribution of campaign materials.

“We have launched our campaign with the message to retrieve the seat from the ruling AINRC. The Thattanchavady constituency was neglected for a long time. In the past two polls, the seat was allotted to us and we were the runner-up. So, we have decided to launch the campaign early,” Mr. Saleem said.

In the previous polls, CPI candidate K. Sethu Selvam, who has since been expelled from the party on charges of financial impropriety, had secured the second spot, garnering 31.89% of the votes. Mr. Selvam was the runner-up in the 2016 polls too, securing around 22% of the votes. The party had contested the polls as part of the Secular Progressive Alliance led by the Congress in the UT.

Standoff over leadership

With the Congress-DMK standoff over the leadership of the alliance continuing, the CPI’s unilateral decision to launch the campaign assumes significance, considering the Dravidian party’s attempts to cobble a front led by it in the UT. Earlier this month, the CPI, along with the CPI(M) and VCK, had attended a meeting convened by the DMK at its office in Puducherry to discuss seat-sharing.

After the February 3 meeting, the CPI secretary told media that the party would like to have the Tamil Nadu model of alliance for the INDIA bloc in the UT, implying that the DMK should lead the front in Puducherry, too. The CPI had sought four seats, including the Thattanchavady constituency, in the meeting with the DMK.