2021 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election explained

Election Name:2021 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election
Country:India
Type:legislative
Vote Type:Popular
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2016 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election
Turnout:83.38%(1.7%)
Previous Year:2016
Election Date:6 April 2021
Next Year:2026
Seats For Election:All 30 seats in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
Majority Seats:16
Chief Minister
Before Election:V. Narayanasamy
Before Party:Indian National Congress
After Election:N. Rangaswamy
After Party:AINRC
Image1:N Rangaswamy.jpg
Leader1:N. Rangaswamy
Party1:All India N.R. Congress
Alliance1:National Democratic Alliance
Leader Since1:2011
Leaders Seat1:Thattanchavady (won)
Yanam (lost)
Last Election1:8
Seats Before1:7
Seats1:10
Seat Change1: 2
Popular Vote1:216,249
Percentage1:25.85%
Swing1: 2.25%
Leader2:R. Siva
Party2:Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Leader Since2:2021
Leaders Seat2:Villianur
Alliance2:SPA+UPA
Last Election2:2
Seats Before2:2
Seats2:6
Seat Change2: 4
Popular Vote2:154,858
Percentage2:18.51%
Swing2: 9.61%
Image4:A. Namassivayam.png
Leader4:A. Namassivayam
Party4:Bharatiya Janata Party
Leader Since4:2021
Leaders Seat4:Mannadipet
Alliance4:National Democratic Alliance
Last Election4:0
Seats Before4:3
Seats4:6
Seat Change4: 6
Popular Vote4:114,298
Percentage4:13.66%
Swing4: 11.26%
Image5:VNarayanasamy.jpg
Leader5:V. Narayanasamy
Party5:Indian National Congress
Leader Since5:2016
Leaders Seat5:Did not contest
Alliance5:SPA+UPA
Last Election5:15
Seats Before5:9
Seats5:2
Seat Change5: 13
Popular Vote5:131,393
Percentage5:15.71%
Swing5: 14.89%

The fifteenth legislative assembly election was held on 6 April 2021 to elect members from 30 constituencies of the 15th Puducherry Assembly in the union territory of Puducherry in India. The National democratic alliance has won a simple majority[1] [2]

Background

In the previous elections in 2016, the election brought a change of power as the All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), which had formed the government under N. Rangaswamy, lost its majority to the Indian National Congress (INC), led by V. Narayanasamy.

In the previous elections in 2016 Indian National Congress (INC) emerged as Single Largest Party[3] with 15 seats, with the support of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) the government was formed.[4] However, a trust vote was called after five MLAs of the Congress, including two ministers, and one DMK MLA resigned from the Assembly. Two of the Congress leaders had joined the BJP which is in alliance with Opposition NR Congress in the Union Territory.[5] The ruling party lost the trust vote after the speaker decided to accept votes from nominated MLAs on equal standing to the elected ones. The outgoing chief minister Narayanasamy commented that the Lieutenant Governor, who was a former president of BJP, had appointed members of her own party for all nominated seats, including one who garnished only 174 votes when he contested in regular elections. [6]

After the 2021 election, the Lt Governor once again granted all the non-elected MLAs to BJP, and thus making it the second largest party [7] with 1/3rd of the seats solely from nominated members rather than directly elected by the people.[8]

Schedule

EventDate
Date for Nominations12 March 2021
Last Date for filing Nominations19 March 2021
Date for scrutiny of nominations20 March 2021
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures22 March 2021
Date of poll6 April 2021
Date of counting2 May 2021
Date before which the election shall be completed24 May 2021

Parties and alliances

PartySymbolLeaderContesting Seats
Indian National CongressINCV. Narayanasamy14
Dravida Munnetra KazhagamDMKR. Siva13
Communist Party of IndiaCPIA. M. Saleem1
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal KatchiVCKThol. Thirumavalavan1
IndependentIND Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok1
CPIM contested the Muthialpet seat and supported the alliance in all other seats.
PartySymbolLeaderContesting Seats
All India N.R. CongressAINRCN. Rangaswamy16
Bharatiya Janata PartyBJPA. Namassivayam9
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra KazhagamAIADMKA. Anbalagan5
PMK supports this alliance without contesting in any seat.
PartySymbolLeaderContesting Seats
Makkal Needhi MaiamMNMKamal Haasan22
Naam Tamilar KatchiNTKSeeman28
Desiya Murpokku Dravida KazhagamDMDKVijayakanth26
Indhiya Jananayaga KatchiIJKT. R. Paarivendhar21
Communist Party of India (Marxist)CPI(M)K. Balakrishnan1
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) LiberationCPI(ML)LDipankar Bhattacharya1

Candidates

Constituency
UPANDAMNMNTKAMMKDMDKIJK
NamePartyCandidatePartyCandidatePartyCandidatePartyCandidatePartyCandidatePartyCandidatePartyCandidate
Puducherry District
1MannadipetDMKA. KrishnanBJPA. NamassivayamMNMP. GopalakrishnanNTKChitraAMMKC. DhanaveluDMDKS. ManikandanIJK-
2Thirubuvanai (SC)DMKA. MugilanAINRCB.GobikaMNMDurai RameshNTKRanjithAMMKK. SilambarasanDMDKT. VinayagamoorthyIJK-
3Ossudu (SC)INCP. Karthikeyan BJPJ. Saravana KumarMNMK. SankarNTKGeetha PriyaAMMKMuthalu VenkatesanDMDKR. BabouIJK-
4MangalamDMKSankumaravelAINRCC. JayakumarMNMM. SubramaniNTKBharath KalaiAMMKM. GanapathiDMDKS. PatchaiappanIJK-
5VillianurDMKR. SivaAINRCS.V.SugumaranMNMA. BanumathiNTKPraveenaAMMKK. KumaravelDMDKA. FazilIJK-
6OzhukaraiVCKD.AngalaneAINRCG.PannirselvamMNMR. PazhanivelanNTKPriyaAMMKR.K. Raja (A) EzhumalaiDMDKGilbertIJK-
7KadirkamamINCP. SelvanathanAINRCS.RameshMNM-NTKSubhasriAMMKSelva GanesanDMDKS. MotcharajanIJK-
8Indira NagarINCM. KannanAINRCV. Arumugam A.K.D.MNMP. SakthivelNTKDevikaAMMKD. MohanDMDKK. EzhumalaiIJK-
9Thattanchavadybgcolor= CPIK. Sethu SelvamAINRCN. RangaswamyMNMR. RajendhiranNTKRameshAMMKVimala SriDMDKS. T. NarassingamIJK-
10Kamaraj NagarINCM. O. H. F. ShahjahanBJPA. JohnkumarMNM-NTKSharmila BegumAMMKMunnuswamyDMDKN.NadarajanIJK-
11LawspetINCM. VaithianathanBJPV. SaminathanMNMD. Sathiya MoorthiNTKNirmal SinghAMMKL. KamachiDMDKA. BoopalanIJK-
12 KalapetDMKS. MuthuvelBJPP. M. L. KalyanasundaramMNMR. Chandra MohanNTKKamarajAMMKP. KaliamurthyDMDKS. HariharanIJK-
13MuthialpetINCS. Senthil Kumaran AIADMKVaiyapuri ManikandanMNMK. SaravananNTKFarithaBegumAMMKK.MuruganDMDKA. ArunagiriIJK-
14Raj BhavanDMKS.P. SivakumarAINRCK. LakshminarayananMNMS. Paruvadha VardhnieNTKAnthony SharmilaAMMKG. SatishkumarDMDK-IJK-
15OupalamDMKV. Anipaul KennedyAIADMKA. AnbalaganMNMP. Santhosh KumarNTKDevi PriyaAMMKBaskarDMDKV. SasikumarIJK-
16OrleampethDMKS. GopalAIADMKOmsakthi SekarMNMS. SaktivelNTKKarunanidhiAMMKA. Siraj (A) KanimuhammedDMDKR. CadiressanIJK-
17NellithopeDMKV. KarthikeyanBJPVivilian Richards JohnkumarMNMP.MurugesanNTKSasikumarSDPIR.AnifaDMDKA. PoovaragavanIJK-
18MudaliarpetDMKL. SampathAIADMKA. BaskarMNMM. Ari KrishnanNTKVelavanAMMKM. ManikandanDMDK-IJK-
19AriankuppamINCT. JayamurthyAINRCR.DatchanamourttyMNMV. RuthraKumaranNTKSundaravadiveluSDPIA.Mohamad KassimDMDKLourdusamyIJK-
20ManavelyINCR. K. R. AnantharamanBJPEmbalam R. SelvamMNMSundarambal MalarvizhiNTKElangovanAMMKR. VeerapudhiranDMDKV. ThirunavukarasuIJK-
21Embalam (SC)INCM. kandassamyAINRCU.LakshmiKandhanMNMN. SomanathanNTKKumaranAMMKE. BalashankarDMDK-IJK-
22Nettapakkam (SC)INCV.VijayavenyAINRCP.RajaveluMNMB. Gnana OlyNTKGowriAMMKSelvamDMDK-IJK-
23BahourDMKR. Senthil KumarAINRCN.Danavelu MNMC DineshNTKGnanaprakashAMMKVelmuruganDMDK-IJK-
Karaikal District
24Nedungadu (SC)INCA. Marimuthu AINRCS.ChandraPriyangaMNM-NTKNivedhaAMMKRajendranDMDK-IJK-
25ThirunallarINCR. KamalakannanBJPG. N. S. RajasekaranMNM-NTKSikkandar BadshaAMMKDharbaranyamDMDK-IJK-
26Karaikal NorthINCA. V. SubramanianAINRCP.R.N Thirumurugan MNMK. SureshNTKAnushyaSDPIM. Thameem KaniDMDKLourdusamyIJK-
27Karaikal SouthDMKA.M.H. NazeemAIADMKK. A. U. AsanaMNM-NTKMaari AnthuvanAMMKS. Mohamed SeediqueDMDK-IJKA. Nepoliean
28Neravy T R PattinamDMKM. NagathiyagarajanBJPV. M. C. S. ManokaranMNM-NTKMuhammed YusufAMMKC. DhandapaniDMDK-IJK-
Mahe District
29MaheINCRamesh ParambathAINRCV. P. Abdul Rahman MNM-NTK-SDPI-DMDK-IJK-
Yanam District
30YanamINDGollapalli Srinivas AshokAINRCN. RangaswamyMNM-NTK-AMMKPeddapatti RajeshbabuDMDK-IJK-

Polls and surveys

Opinion polls

Date published! rowspan="2" width="175px"
Polling agencyLead
NDAUPAOthers
3 April 2021Thanthi TV[9] 21-273-90
24 March 2021Patriotic Voter [10] 17-1810-120-3
15 March 2021ABP News - CVoter[11] 16-2010-140
8 March 2021Times Now - CVoter[12] 18120
1 March 2021Patriotic Voter 19110

Exit polls

Date publishedPolling agencyLead
NDAUPAOthers
29 April 2021Republic TV-CNX[13] 16-2011-13-5-7
29 April 2021Patriotic Voter [14] 1812-6
29 April 2021ABP-C Voter19-236-101-29-17

Voter Turnout

S.No. DistrictVote %
1.Karaikal 80.07
2.Puducherry 82.01
3.Yanam91.27[15]
4.Mahé73.53
Total81.69[16]

Result

Results by party

Colspan=2PartyVotes Vote % SwingContsWonStrike rateChange
All India N.R. Congress216,24925.85 2.316 1062.50% 2
154,85818.51 9.6 13646.15% 4
Bharatiya Janata Party114,29813.66 11.39 666.67% 6
Independents106,09812.686- 5
Indian National Congress131,39315.71 14.914 28.33% 13
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam34,6234.14 12.7500.00% 4
Naam Tamilar Katchi28,1893.37 2.92800.00%
Makkal Needhi Maiam15,8251.89 1.892200.00%New Party
Communist Party of India7,5220.90 0.2100.00%
None of the above10,8031.29 0.4
Total8,36,5621003030
Valid votes8,36,56299.88
Invalid votes9810.12
Votes cast / turnout8,37,54383.38%
Registered voters10,04,507
Source:[17]
1695
NDAUPAIND

Results by party and alliance

NDASEATSUPASEATSOthersSEATS
AINRC10INC2IND5
BJP6DMK6
IND1
Total16Total9Total5
Change 4Change 8Change 4
[18]

Results by district

DistrictSeats
NDAUPAOth.
Puducherry231454
Karaikal5221
Mahe1010
Yanam1010
Total301695

Results by constituency

Assembly Constituency! colspan="5"
WinnerRunner UpMargin
NameCandidatePartyVotes%CandidatePartyVotes%
Puducherry District
1MannadipetA. NamassivayamBharatiya Janata Party1493951.82A. KrishnanDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1218942.282750
2Thirubuvanai (SC)P. AngalaneIndependent1059736.78B. KobigaAll India N.R. Congress823828.62359
3Ossudu (SC)A.K. Sai J Saravanan KumarBharatiya Janata Party1412148.78P. KarthikeyanIndian National Congress1224142.291880
4MangalamC. DjeacoumarAll India N.R. Congress1697250.89Sun. KumaravelDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1422142.642751
5VillianurR. SivaDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1965355.73S.V. SugumaranAll India N.R. Congress1270336.026950
6OzhukaraiM. SivasankarIndependent1194036.5N.G. Pannir SelvamAll India N.R. Congress1112134819
7KadirkamamS. RameshAll India N.R. Congress1777565.82P. SelvanadaneIndian National Congress552920.4712246
8Indira NagarA.K.D. ArumugamAll India N.R. Congress2184174.77M. KannanIndian National Congress331011.3318531
9ThattanchavadyN. RangasamyAll India N.R. Congress1297855.02K. Sethu SelvamCommunist Party of India752231.895456
10Kamaraj NagarA. JohnkumarBharatiya Janata Party1668756.11M. O. H. F. ShahjahanIndian National Congress945831.87229
11LawspetM. VaithianathanIndian National Congress1459255.6V. SaminathanBharatiya Janata Party889133.885701
12KalapetP.M.L. KalyanasundaramBharatiya Janata Party1327744.63A. Senthil RameshIndependent976932.843508
13MuthialpetJ. Prakash KumarIndependent877837.48%Vaiyapuri ManikandanAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam784433.49934
14Raj BhavanK. LakshminarayananAll India N.R. Congress1009651.86S.P. SivakumarDravida Munnetra Kazhagam636432.693732
15OupalamAnnibal KennedyDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1343356.64A. AnbalaganAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam865336.484780
16OrleampethG. Nehru KuppusamyIndependent958047.29S. GopalDravida Munnetra Kazhagam748736.962093
17NellithopeVivilian Richards JohnkumarBharatiya Janata Party1175742.26V. KarthikeyanDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1126140.47496
18MudaliarpetL. SambathDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1515151.3A. BaskarAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam1097237.154179
19AriankuppamR. Baskar DatchanamourttyAll India N.R. Congress1785854.32T. JayamoorthyIndian National Congress1144034.86418
20ManavelyEmbalam R. SelvamBharatiya Janata Party1722557.54R. K. R. AnantharamanIndian National Congress909330.378132
21Embalam (SC)U. LakshmikandhanAll India N.R. Congress1562450.85M. CandassamyIndian National Congress1338443.562240
22Nettapakkam (SC)P. RajaveluAll India N.R. Congress1597856.82V. VijayavenyIndian National Congress934033.216638
23BahourR. SenthilkumarDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1178944.56N. DhanavelouAll India N.R. Congress1157843.76201
Karaikal District
24Nedungadu (SC)S. Chandra PriyangaAll India N.R. Congress1077440.2A. MarimuthuIndian National Congress856031.942214
25ThirunallarP. R. SivaIndependent955136.45S. RajasekaranBharatiya Janata Party841631.321380
26Karaikal NorthP. R. N. ThirumuruganAll India N.R. Congress1270444.85A. V. SubramanianIndian National Congress1256944.38135
27Karaikal SouthA.M.H. NazeemDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1740171.15K. A. U. AsanaAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam536721.9512034
28Neravy T R PattinamM. NagathiyagarajamDravida Munnetra Kazhagam1449655.74V. M. C. S. ManokaranBharatiya Janata Party898534.555511
Mahe District
29MaheRamesh ParambathIndian National Congress974441.63N. Haridasan MasterIndependent944440.35300
Yanam District
30YanamGollapalli Srinivas AshokIndependent1713149.04N. RangasamyAll India N.R. Congress1647547.17655
Nominated MLAs
31K. VenkatesanBharatiya Janata Party
32V. P. RamalingamBharatiya Janata Party
33R. B. Ashok BabuBharatiya Janata Party

Government formation

See main article: Fourth Rangaswamy ministry. Even though results for the election were declared on 2 May, the government formation was finalized on 8 June.The results were with NDA winning 16 seats (AIRNC :- 10, BJP :- 6) and UPA winning 9 seats (DMK :- 6, INC :- 2, Independent :- 1) and 5 Independents not backed by either of the alliance won.Immediately the NDA unanimously elected N. Rangaswamy from AIRNC as the CM, and the UPA elected R.Siva from the DMK as the Leader Of Opposition.Post results the central government nominated 3 MLAs affiliated to the BJP, thereby taking NDA to 19 seats and BJP to 9.Furthermore, before the swearing in of the government, 3 Independent MLAs pledged support to AIRNC and 2 Independent MLAs pledged support to BJP, also the 1 Independent MLA backed by UPA during election later switched allegiance to BJP. The NDA MLAs increased to 25 and UPA decreased to 8.Even after the swearing in ceremony of the CM, the talks between AIRNC and BJP on cabinet composition and assembly speaker continued for more than a month. On 8 June the alliance announced that the BJP would get 2 ministers and the post of assembly speaker, while AIRNC will get 3 ministers.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Puducherry CM Narayanasamy brokers truce between DMK, Congress . 19 January 2020 . The New Indian Express . 17 February 2020 . 27 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200127084741/https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/jan/19/puducherry-cm-narayanasamy-brokers-truce-between-dmk-congress-2091391.html . live .
  2. Web site: BJP alliance to sweep Puducherry assembly polls: Asianet-C fore pre-poll survey. 16 March 2021. Hindustan Times. 17 March 2021. 17 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210317102155/https://www.hindustantimes.com/elections/puducherry-assembly-election/bjp-alliance-to-sweep-puducherry-assembly-polls-asianet-c-fore-pre-poll-survey-101615908388517.html. live.
  3. News: Congress emerges as the single largest party in Puducherry - Times of India. The Times of India. 20 May 2016. 20 March 2021. 28 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210928042522/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections-2016/puducherry-elections-2016/news/congress-emerges-as-the-single-largest-party-with-15-seats-in-30-member-puducherry-assembly/articleshow/52343485.cms. live.
  4. News: Congress-DMK front regains power in Pondy - Times of India. The Times of India. 20 May 2016. 20 March 2021. 28 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210928053200/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections-2016/puducherry-elections-2016/news/congress-dmk-front-regains-power-in-pondy/articleshow/52355802.cms. live.
  5. News: Archived copy . Businessline . February 22, 2021 . 13 May 2023 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513204654/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/congress-loses-puducherry-narayanasamy-blames-bjp/article33901435.ece . live .
  6. News: Archived copy . Businessline . February 22, 2021 . 13 May 2023 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513204654/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/congress-loses-puducherry-narayanasamy-blames-bjp/article33901435.ece . live .
  7. News: Archived copy . Rediff news . June 21, 2023 . 13 May 2023 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513205017/https://www.rediff.com/news/column/how-bjp-got-its-way-in-puducherry/20210717.htm#:~:text=It%20took%20Mr%20Surana%20(primarily,BJP%2C%20will%20now%20rule%20Puducherry. . live .
  8. News: Archived copy . The New Indian Express . May 11, 2021 . 13 May 2023 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513205708/https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/may/11/three-nominated-mlas-take-bjps-tally-in-puducherry-to-9-2301057.html . live .
  9. Web site: Thanthi TV Opinion Poll 2021. YouTube. en. 9 April 2021. 20 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230820232648/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeG0FYF4EY4&list=LL&index=3. live.
  10. Web site: Puducherry 2020. 7 September 2021. 7 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210907185018/https://www.sites.google.com/view/patvot/surveys/puducherry-2020. live.
  11. Web site: ABP CVoter Opinion Poll 2021: Voters' Mood Not In Favour Of Congress-Led Alliance In Puducherry, NDA Likely To Form Govt. 15 March 2021. en. 16 March 2021. 15 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210315222210/https://news.abplive.com/news/india/abp-news-cvoter-opinion-poll-2021-results-puducherry-opinion-poll-results-2021-ainrc-congress-bjp-vote-share-seat-wise-details-1448619. live.
  12. Web site: Puducherry pre-poll survey 2021: 'Congress likely to lose its grip; NDA projected to form govt'. www.timesnownews.com. 12 March 2021. 11 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210311032603/https://www.timesnownews.com/india/puducherry/article/puducherry-pre-poll-survey/729729. live.
  13. Web site: 2021-04-29. Elections Exit Poll Results 2021 Live Updates: Exit polls show Mamata, Pinarayi and Sonowal holding on to power. 2021-04-29. The Indian Express. en. 29 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210429144719/https://indianexpress.com/elections/elections-exit-poll-results-2021-bengal-tamil-nadu-kerala-assam-live-updates-7293961/. live.
  14. Web site: PUDUCHERRY 2020 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210823185221/https://www.sites.google.com/view/patvot/survey/puducherry-2020 . 23 August 2021.
  15. Web site: Puducherry Election 2021: UT registers 81.64% polling as Congress-led SDA locks horns with NDA in bid to regain turf. Firstpost. 6 April 2021. 11 August 2022. 11 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220811151409/https://www.firstpost.com/politics/puducherry-election-2021-ut-registers-81-64-polling-as-congress-led-sda-locks-horns-with-nda-in-bid-to-regain-turf-9502581.html. live.
  16. News: Assembly elections | Peaceful polling in T.N., Kerala, Puducherry, Assam and Bengal. The Hindu. 6 April 2021. 6 April 2021. 6 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210406174918/https://www.thehindu.com/elections/assembly-elections-peaceful-polling-in-tn-kerala-puducherry-assam-and-bengal/article34256847.ece. live.
  17. Web site: GENERAL ELECTION TO VIDHAN SABHA TRENDS & RESULT MAY-2021. results.eci.gov.in. 2021-05-02. 2021-05-08. 2 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210502195200/https://results.eci.gov.in/Result2021/partywiseresult-U07.htm?st=U07. live.
  18. Web site: Election Commission of India. 2021-05-02. results.eci.gov.in. 2 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210502195200/https://results.eci.gov.in/Result2021/partywiseresult-U07.htm?st=U07. live.