Puducherry CM Rangasamy resigns

Earlier, N. Rangasamy won from Indira Nagar, A. Namassivayam from Villinaur and Independent Ramachandran from Mahe; P.Kannan lost to K. Lakshminarayanan from Raj Bhavan

May 19, 2016 03:05 am | Updated November 17, 2021 10:53 am IST

PUDUCHERRY, 19/05/2016: (For Page 3) Video grab of AINRC party founder-president and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, coming out after submitting resignation letter to Lieutenant Governor A.K. Singh at Raj Nivas in Puducherry on Thursday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

PUDUCHERRY, 19/05/2016: (For Page 3) Video grab of AINRC party founder-president and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, coming out after submitting resignation letter to Lieutenant Governor A.K. Singh at Raj Nivas in Puducherry on Thursday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

The Congress-DMK alliance is all set to form a government in Puducherry providing a silver lining in an otherwise gloomy scenario for the Congress.

After an initial close fight, AINRC managed to win only eight seats, including the Indira Nagar constituency by party founder and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy who resigned later in the evening. AINRC heavyweights who lost included MInisters P. Rajavelu and N.G. Panneerselvam and Speaker V. Sabapathy, while AIADMK's campaign spearhead P. Kannan lost in the Raj Bhavan constituency.

As we predicted earlier in the coverage, Independent candidate Ramachandran who had the support of PWF emerged victorious against E. Valsaraj, a former minister who recently completed 25 uninterrupted years as legislator in the Puducherry Assembly.

As it happened:

6:00 p.m.: Vijayakant's DMDK bags 850 votes; Vaiko's MDMK gets 755 votes, reports @SIVARAMAN74

5:13 p.m.: Pondicherry Chief Minister Rangasamy resigns, reports R. Sivaraman

5:00 p.m.: Watch video: DMK supporters celebrate the party's victory.

2:15 p.m.: Results declared so far: Congress-15, AINRC-8 AIADMK-4, DMK-2 and Independent - 1

2:05 p.m.: Geetha Anandan of DMK leading in Karaikal's Neravy constituency.

2:00 p.m.: Congress emerges single largest party with 15 MLAs | >Read more

1:50 p.m.: LAD Minister N.G. Panneerselvam lost to MNR Balan of Congress from Ozhukarai. | >Read more

1:41 p.m.: Congress candidate Theeppainthan leading in Oussudu

1:33 p.m.: AIADMK Election Wing Secretary and former Minister P. Kannan loses his protégé and Congress candidate K. Lakshminarayanan in Raj Bhavan constituency. Mr. Lakshminarayan secured 9445 votes while Mr. Kannan got 7220. AINRC candidate Annibal Nehru got 1517 votes.

1:25 p.m.: PCC leader A Namassivayam showing certificate of elections after being declared winner from Villanur constituency.

1:20 p.m.: AIADMK Puducherry unit secretary P. Purushothaman pushed to fourth position in his Manavely constituency.

1:16 p.m.: Fisheries Minister P.R. Siva trailing in Thirunallar; Kamalakannan of Congress is leading.

01:15 p.m.: Congress candidate M.O.H.F. Shahjahan wins in Kalapet.

01:00 p.m.:B. Kobiga of AINRC declared winner from Thirubhuvanai. She defeated her immediate rival, P Angalane of Congress, by 2,980 votes.

01.00 p.m. : Results declared so far: Congress-9, AINRC-8, AIADMK-3, DMK-1 and Independent -1.

12:52 p.m.:AIADMK's K.A.U. Asana declared winner in Karaikal South . Asana won by a slender margin of 20 votes against DMK's A.M.H. Nazeem.

12:50 p.m.: Tourism Minister Rajavelu loses in Nettapakkam.. V. Vizeavany of Congress is leading him by 1,743 votes

12:40 p.m.: Villianur: A. Namassivayam declared elected from the constituency with a margin of 8,281 votes. The AIADMK has been pushed to fourth place in Villianur.

12: 30 p.m.: V. Vizeavany of Congress wins from Nettapakkam constituency by a margin of 1,468 votes. She secured 10,577 votes trouncing her rival AINRC's Rajavelu who got 9,104 votes.

12:17 p.m.: AINRC's Chandira Priyanka wins Nedungadu in Karaikal by a margin of 1,094 votes.

12:15 p.m.: Congress leader Namassivayam is still leading in Villianur constituency

12:11 p.m.: Tourism Minister P. Rajavelu trailing in Nettapakkam by 2,000 votes.

12:10 p.m.: AIADMK’s Vaiyapuri Manikandan wins Muthialpet by a margin of 2,164 votes. Mr. Manikandan secured 9,257 votes and his rival J. Pragesh Kumar got 7,093 votes. DMk candidate S.P. Sivakumar got 5,269 votes.

12:05 p.m.: AINRC's Ashok Anand leads in Thattanchavady constituency by 6,349 votes.

12:00 p.m.:AINRC president N. Rangasamy has been declared elected with a margin of 3,404 votes in Indira Nagar constituency. Mr. Rangasamy secured 15,463 votes while his rival Congress candidate V. Aroumougam 12,059 votes. AIADMK candidate T. Gunasekàran was able to get only 612 votes.

11.55 a.m.: A. Namassivayam of Congress is leading by 4,587 votes in Villianur.

11.45 a.m. : Karaikal South DMK's Nazeem leading by 489 votes.

11.45 a.m.: DMK candidate R. Siva is leading in Orleanpet by 2,000 votes.

11:35 a.m.: Constituencies declared so far: Congress-6, AINRC-6 AIADMK-1 and Independent - 1

11:30 a.m.: DMK candidate R. Siva leading in Orleanpet by 2,000 votes.

11:20 a.m.: AINRC’s Rangasamy wins Indira Nagar by a margin of 3,404 votes.

11:15 a.m.: Congress candidate A. Namassivayam is leading in Villianur constituency by a margin of 1,070 votes.

11:12 a.m.: Congress candidate T. Djeamourthy wins Ariyankuppam by a margin of 5,911 votes.

11:10 a.m.: AINRC candidate T.P.R.Selvam wins Mannadipet constituency.

11:05 a.m.: Veteran Congress leader Valsaraj loses in Mahe . Independent candidate Ramachandran wins by 2,139 votes

11:04 a.m.: Congress candidate Jayamurthy leading in Ariyankuppam

11:02 a.m.: Chief Electoral Officer V. Candavelou inspects the Bharathidasan Government College for Women counting centre, in Puducherry. Photo: S.S. Kumar

11:00 A.M.: AIADMK Candidate A. Anbalagan has been declared elected with a margin of 917 votes in Uppalam constituency. He secured 9,347 votes while his nearest rival Annibal Nehru got 8,430 and AINRC candidate N. Anand got 4,652 votes.

10:55 a.m.: AINRC candidate leads by 3,298 votes over AIADMK in Karaikal North.

10:46 a.m.: Congress candidates declared elected in five constituencies so far- Lawspet, Embalam, Nellithope, Kamaraj Nàgar and Yanam

10:45 a.m.: Embalam: Congress candidate Candassamy wins by a margin of 11,200 votes

10:42 a.m.:Kamaraj Nagar: Leader of Opposition and Congress candidate V. Vaithilingam wins by a margin of 5,106 votes; Vaithilingam secured 11,618 votes while his rival AIADMK candidate P. Ganesan got 6,512 votes and AINRC candidate B. Thayalan was pushed to third position with 3,642 votes.

10:40 a.m.: Congress candidate V.P.Sivakoulundhu wins by a margin of 6,449 votes in Lawspet constituency.

10:30 a.m.: AINRC records first win with N.S. Jayabal elected from Kadirgamam .

10:25 a.m.: Congress candidate and four-time MLA Malladi Krishna Rao pockets Yanam.

10:20 a.m.: Supporters of Congress candidate Johnkumar from Nellithope celebrate his leading.

10:00 a.m.:AIADMK's A. Anbalagan wins by a margin of 1000 votes in Uppalam constituency .

9:56 a.m.: AINRC candidate N.S.J.Jayabal alias Ayyanar leads by a margin of 3802 in Kadirkamam

9:55 a.m.: Congress candidate V.P.Sivakolundu leads by 3000 votes.

In Puducherry, Congress workers are already celebrating "victory" of V. P. Sivakolundu ( Lawspet )

9:50 a.m.: AINRC candidate Chandira Priyanga leads in Nedungadu by 752 votes.

Our Puducherry Correspondent tweets about party leads.

9:40 a.m.: Former Minister and Congress candidate Valsaraj trailing by 532 votes against Independent candidate V Ramachandran.

“Development is the main plank of campaigning in Mahe,” Mr. Valsaraj had said during the campaign. He completed 25 uninterrupted years as legislator in the Puducherry Assembly.

Is the Independent candidate Ramachandran contradicting his claim through his visible leads?

9:36 a.m.: In Yanam Congress candidate Malladi Krishna Ray leads by margin of 7,925 votes

9:35 a.m.: Congress candidate M.Kandasamy leads by 127 votes in Embalam

9:34 a.m.: AINRC candidate P.R.N Thirumurugan leads in Karaikal North.

9:33 a.m.: Congress candidate John Kumar leading In Nellithope by 5,159 votes.

9:32 a.m.: AINRC candidate Sugumaran leads in Mangalam 1222 votes.

9:30 a.m.: Former Congress CM V. Vaithilingam leads by 1884 votes in Kamaraj Nagar.

9:20 a.m.: AINRC candidate T.P.R.Selvam leads by 73 votes in Mannadipet.

9:10 a.m.: Independent candidate Ramachandiran leading in Mahe by 9 votes.

The Congress has had such a stranglehold on Mahe that it has won here in almost every election since 1964 — the only exception was in 1977. Is Mr. Ramachandran making inroads now, or is this a temporary lead? Let's wait and watch.

9:00 a.m.: Yanam: Congress candidate Malladi Krishna Rao leads by margin of 1422 votes.

8:55 a.m.: In Yanam constituency Congress candidate Malladi Krishna Rao leads by margin of 722. He secures 3302 while his opponent AINRC candidate TirukotiBairavasamy got 2580.

8:50 a.m.: Police clear the crowd that is waiting in anticipation of the results as the counting is in progress near Government Women's Polytechnic in Lawspet, in Puducherry on Thursday.

8:40 a.m.: AINRC candidate TirukotiBairavasamy gets 10 postal votes.

AINRC’s move to field former police officer Tirukoti Bhairavasamy came even as incumbent Congress MLA Malladi Krishna Rao from Yanam had been making overtures towards the party some time ago with an eye on a Rajya Sabha ticket.

8:35 a.m: Congress candidate Malladi Krishna Rao leads in postal votes in Yanam .

Malladi Krishna Rao has reigned supreme in successive elections.Mr. Rao won the seat four times in five attempts since 1996, as Independent in 1996 and 2001, and on the Congress ticket ever since. Will he make it this time too? Let's wait for the results.

8:30 a.m.: In the DMK, unit organisers AMH Nazeem, S.P. Sivakumar and R. Siva are among the notable candidates.

8:25 a.m.: The outcome of the decision of AINRC MLAs- P.M.L.Kalyanasundaram, M.Vaithianathan and P.Karthikeyan to contest as rebel candidates in their respective seats, will also been keenly watched.

8:20 a.m.: Apart from Ministers such as P.Rajavelu, N.G.Pannirselvam, T.Thiagarajan and P.R.Siva and Speaker V.Sabapathy alias Kothandaram, the AINRC has fielded General Secretary V.Bhalan and N.S.J.Ayyanar.

8:15 a.m.: Counting for five segments in Karaikal and one each in Mahe and Yanam begin in respective regions.

8:14 a.m.: While the counting of the postal ballots is happening at one end, EVMs are being opened by the officials at the other end in Government Women's Polytechnic in Lawspet, Puducherry.

8: 13 a.m.: A quick snapshot of the Puducherry Assembly elections: 30 constituencies, 344 candidates in the fray, including 96 independents, 21 women and a sole transgender.

8:11 a.m.: Counting of postal ballots begins at the Government Women's Polytechnic in Lawspet, Puducherry.

8:00 a.m.:Counting begins in all counting centres; Counting of postal ballots begins

7:55 a.m.: Counting for the 23 Assembly constituencies at the counting centres in Puducherry to commence at 8 a.m.

7:50 a.m.: Agents of candidates enter at the Bharathidasan Government College for Women counting centre, in Puducherry.

7:45 a.m.: EVMs to be opened after completing over 8,000 postal ballots.

7:40 a.m.: Officials and election observers check the security arrangements at the Bharathidasan Government College for Women counting centre, in Puducherry.

7:30 a.m.: Chief Minister N. Rangasamy set out on a brief pilgrimage on March 17, 2016, along with senior party leaders to the jeeva samadhis of his spiritual guru Appa Paithiyam Swami in Salem and Azhukku Swami, the guru of Appa Paithiyam Swamy at Vettaikaranpudur near Pollachi. Mr. Rangasamy has been strongly attached to Appa Pathiyam Swami ever since he tasted the first electoral victory. | > Read more

7:20 a.m.: If you want to know where the counting is going to happen for the Union Territory, here it is…

Puducherry – Bharathidasan Govt. College for Women, Thiruvalluvar Nagar and Government Women's Polytechnic, Lawspet

Karaikal – Arignar Anna Govt. Arts College

Mahe – Mahatma Gandhi Govt. Arts College

Yanam – Mini Civil Station

7.00 a.m.: As counting gets under way, all eyes will be on the results pouring in from Indira Nagar where Chief Minister N. Rangasamy is contesting. The main rivals standing in the way are V. Aroumougam of the Congress and T.Gunasekaran of the AIADMK. | > Read more

6.50 a.m.: Who will form the next government in the Union Territory is expected to be known by around 11 a.m. today. | > Read more

Welcome to The Hindu ’s live coverage of the Puducherry Assembly Election results.

The Union Territory has 30 constituencies spread over four regions — Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe.

Even as heavy rains lashed the city, 81.94 per cent the electorate turned out on May 16 to exercise their franchise. Over 7.91 lakh voters of the total electorate of 9.41 lakh cast their votes in 930 polling stations to choose 30 MLAs from among 344 candidates. | > Read more

Yanam constituency polled the highest with 92.67% and Karaikal North the lowest at 75.1%.

Opinion and exit polls suggest it is a tight race between the ruling AINRC led by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and the Congress led by A. Namassivayam, a relative of Mr. Rangasamy.

We will know who will win the race today. Is it Mr. Rangasamy’s washing machines or Mr. Namassivayam’s 20-kg rice and 5-kg wheat? The AIADMK, which decided to > fight the elections alone , vowed to phase-out liquor in big brother Tamil Nadu, but has remained silent about it here.

Key candidates:

N. Rangasamy , Chief Minister: The All India NR Congress leader has won four elections from 1991 to 2006 as a Congress candidate. In 2011, he parted ways with the Congress, founded the All India NR Congress and went on to become Chief Minister once again. He's contesting from Indira Nagar constituency. | > Read more

A. Namassivayam , Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee president. The Congress leader and Chief Minister hopeful is also a relative of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy. He is contesting from Villianur Constituency.

V. Vaithilingam , Congress leader: The leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister was elected for six consecutive times from Nettapakkam constituency, from 1985 to 2006. He's contesting from Kamaraj Nagar constituency this time.

P. Kannan , AIADMK leader: The veteran Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP, quit the Congress to join the AIADMK in the run up to the elections. He is contesting after 15 years. He's seeking election from Raj Bhavan constituency.

R. Siva , DMK leader: He was elected thrice from Orleanpet Constituency, where he's seeking election for the fourth time.

M.A.S. Subramaniyam , AIADMK leader: He's contesting from Mudaliarpet Constituency. He has won from Orleanpet constituency in 1985 and twice from Mudaliarpet.

V.Sabapathy alias Kothandaraman, AINRC leader and Assembly Speaker: A Congress veteran, Mr. Sabapathy had quit the party to join the AINRC ahead of the 2011 elections. He was a five-time legislator from Mudaliarpet in 1974, 1977, 1980, 1985 and 1991.

Exit polls:

The Congress could take solace from its projected victory in the tiny Union Territory of Puducherry where it is likely to get power in alliance with the DMK. | > Read more

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