High-profile contest on the cards at Thattanchavady constituency

Thattanchavady has been in the spotlight of every Assembly election for more than two decades in Puducherry after Chief Minister N. Rangasamy made the seat his preferred choice from the early days of his political career as a Congressman, and later after founding the All India N R Congress. 

The 2026 Assembly polls has put the urban constituency of Thattanchavady more to the centre-stage of electioneering in the Union Territory after the Congress in a rather surprise move decided to field one of its senior members V. Vaithilingam, himself a two-time Chief Minister, a sitting Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and PCC president.

The battle of Thattanchavady, that has pitted a serving Chief Minister against his predecessor has turned into the most high profile contest of the 30-member Legislative Assembly in the Union Territory. A part of the Oulgaret Municipality, the constituency is considered a stronghold of Mr. Rangasamy after he won the seat consecutively for four times, since 1991 till he shifted to the adjoining Indira Nagar constituency in 2011 elections after forming his outfit the AINRC. 

He returned to his home constituency in 2021 elections and got re-elected from the seat defeating K. Sethu Selvam of the Communist Party of India by a margin of 5,456 votes.

Apart from Mr. Rangasamy and Mr. Vaithilingam, there are 10 candidates in fray including Mr. Selvam, this time as an Independent after he was expelled from the CPI over financial impropriety linked to a land dispute settlement, S. Karthi Kumari of Naam Tamilar Katchi and E. Vinayagam of Neyam Makkal Kazhagam (NMK), a newly-formed regional outfit aligned with Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

Mr. Vaithilingam before entering the Lok Sabha has represented Nettapakkam Assembly constituency six times and Kamaraj Nagar segment for two times. Mr. Rangasamy is seeking his eighth term as a legislator in the Puducherry Assembly. 

That the decision of the Congress party to field Mr. Vaithilingam from Thattanchavady has thrown the contest wide open was evident from the intensity of the campaign being carried out by the rival camps. Both leaders have devoted considerable amount of their time in the constituency during the last few days even as they shoulder larger responsibility of leading their respective parties in the polls.

Not lagging in the campaign are, Mr. Selvam who had come second in the last Assembly elections, NMK candidate Mr. Vinayagam and the NTK candidate, Ms. Kumari. Thattanchavady residents are also thrilled to be part of the super-charged campaign evolving in the constituency as supporters of Mr. Rangasamy and Mr. Vaithilingam have positioned the electoral battle as that of two prospective Chief Ministers in case the parties they belong secure simple majority. 

“Probably after a long time, we have two prospective Chief Ministerial candidates locking horns in one constituency for the Assembly polls in the Union Territory. The interest among the voters of the constituency has increased because of the profile of the candidates. We are in for an interesting battle. However, the last hours of silent campaign could be the deciding phase of the elections,” said Ramesh, a resident of Thattanchavady. 

The constituency which has a diverse demographic profile, has a set of own issues, though voters mainly talk about the larger problem of unemployment and improving the standard of living. Voters also flag the failure of successive governments to open more industrial units in Thattanchavady Industrial Estate. Another concern among the voters is the problem of stray dogs.

“In the recent months, works have commenced in certain places in the constituency to address the issue of overflowing sewage. The issue of proper collection of sewage was yet to be addressed in certain localities near the ECR. Sometimes, we also face deterioration in quality of water supplied,” said a resident of Chinnianpet 

Another major issue, according to a resident of Pakkamudyanpet, is the traffic congestion. “The absence of traffic police sometimes during peak hours, disrupts free flow of vehicles. The movement of stray cattle even in the residential areas was a major cause of concern,” he said.