How Puducherry has voted since 2011

With Puducherry gearing up for another elections on April 9, 2026 it would be interesting to see how voters in the Union Territory have voted in the past three Assembly elections.

Puducherry Assembly has 30 seats. In many ways, the 2011 Assembly elections turned out to be a watershed moment in the political history of Puducherry.

Birth of All India N.R. Congress

That was the year when the poll results heralded the beginning of the journey of a new regional outfit, the All India N.R. Congress headed by the present Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, that proved itself capable of challenging the dominance of mainstream political parties such as Congress, DMK, AIADMK and Left in the electoral landscape of this former French enclave.

The emergence of a regional political outfit after the Union Territories Act came into force in 1963 capable of forming a government on its own, brought with it several upheavals in Puducherry’s political scene.

More than 15 years after the formation of the party, AINRC continues to remain the fulcrum on which politics of Puducherry is centred, a role once occupied by the Congress.

Mr. Rangasamy was originally a Congress man. After his removal as Chief Minister heading a Congress government in 2008 following a rebellion in the Cabinet, Mr. Rangasamy just days before the 2011 Assembly elections decided to end his decade-old association with the grand old party to form his political outfit, the AINRC. The party went to the polls in alliance with AIADMK and secured 15 of the 18 seats it contested to form a government on its own.

The Assembly election results of Puducherry in 2011, 2016 and 2021
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Graphics

Fall of AIADMK

The entry of AINRC into the political arena with a bang led to several shifts and churns in the years now leading to the 2026 Assembly polls. Though the Congress still holds its ground, despite its severe set back in the 2021 Assembly polls, the parallel story along with the rise of AINRC, was the emergence of BJP with a strong organisation base and the decline of AIADMK as a force in the Union Territory.

The Congress rebounded in 2016 with voters electing its candidates in 15 of the 21 seats it contested. It formed a government with the support of its ally DMK.

The AINRC, however, maintained its vote share and secured the Opposition party’s position in the Legislative Assembly winning eight seats.

BJP gains strength

The Congress rule during 2016-21 saw a parallel push by the BJP’s central leadership to expand its footprints across the country. It saw the saffron outfit making aggressive moves to establish political base in the Union Territory.

It took its first step through the appointment of three BJP members as nominated legislators in the Assembly in 2018 and then by weaning away legislators from other parties, particularly the Congress, the BJP had forced its way to the centre stage of Puducherry’s politics by early 2021.

From a party, which continuously forfeited deposits in elections till 2016, the BJP was able to change its fortunes in the last Assembly polls by aligning with AINRC to establish the first National Democratic Alliance government in Puducherry.

The AIADMK, which once ruled the territory and sent legislators to the Assembly, was wiped out in the last polls. The party had contested the 2021 elections in alliance with AINRC and BJP but could not win a single seat, a first-of-its-kind performance for it in more than a decade.

Change in power equations in INDIA bloc

The outcome of last polls resulted in changes in the power equations within the INDIA bloc also. The DMK, which contested 13 seats, managed to secure six seats while its ally Congress contesting 14 seats could only win two seats in the 2021 polls. The DMK’s position in the current Assembly of being the Principal Opposition in the Legislative Assembly has increased its bargaining power with ally Congress for this year’s elections. The Congress, which led the alliance in the past elections, suddenly went out of the favour of other alliance partners including Left and VCK.

The Left parties, particularly the CPI which played a major role in Puducherry’s independence and enjoyed the share of power post-merger of the territory with Indian union, have been relegated to marginal players in the last three Assembly polls.

Jose Charles Martin’s ‘Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi’

If there is any single major change that has occurred in the political sphere of the Union Territory in recent times, it is the entry of a new outfit, the Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi, headed by businessman Jose Charles Martin, son of lottery king Santiago Martin who is under investigation by the Directorate of Enforcement.

The junior Martin, through his business partners among BJP legislators and Independents, arrived on the scene as a large-hearted donor doling out largesse under the guise of welfare assistance in constituencies held by the ruling party.

Businessman Jose Charles Martin floats his political outfit ‘Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi’ in Puducherry on December 14, 2025
| Photo Credit:
S.S. Kumar

Last year, Mr. Jose decided to form LJK and launched an initiative of providing free food in three constituencies, two of them currently held by the BJP.

And by Deepavali festival last year, the LJK went into an overdrive of distribution of gift articles including expensive grinder, mixer and other electronic items prompting many leading politicians including former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy to emulate Martin junior in selected Assembly constituencies.

Though disbursal of freebies was a practice followed by all political parties all these years, the decision of a businessman with deep pockets to venture into electoral politics may have changed the dynamics of 2026 polls.

Published – March 19, 2026 04:36 pm IST