Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 25: The cohesiveness in the INDIA bloc alliance partners will be put to test in the Puducherry Assembly elections after the decision of the Congress, the DMK, the CPI and the VCK to field candidates against each other in several of the 30 Assembly constituencies in the April 9 polls in the Union Territory.
On the last day of filing of nomination papers on Monday, as there was uncertainty on the number of seats and constituencies distributed among the allies, candidates of all the four parties have filed nomination papers for their preferred seats.
The candidates were asked to submit the nomination papers by the respective parties hoping that they could prevail upon the applicants to withdraw their papers before the deadline prescribed by the Election Commission of India on March 26 (Thursday), once the leaders of the alliance partners come to a mutual understanding.
After the nominations were filed on Monday, the DMK-Congress leaders met again in the evening to finalise the number of seats and constituencies the parties would contest. A day after the discussions, the DMK on Tuesday had released a list of 13 candidates with the names of constituencies given to each of its nominee. The party also allocated a seat and constituency to the VCK from its quota of 14.
However, the Congress was yet to release the list of candidates and constituencies after the discussions with the DMK. Among the 13 constituencies that found place in the DMK’s list, the Congress has given Form A and B (party authorisation forms) to candidates in Kalapet, Nellithope and Raj Bhavan.
Those from the Congress camp who have filed papers, included former Minister M.O.H.F. Shahjahan from Kalapet. “I was given the forms by the AICC and the PCC leadership. There is only one candidate from the minority community in the Congress. So far nobody has asked me to withdraw the papers. My papers have been accepted after scrutiny on Tuesday,” he said.
By Tuesday evening, Shahjahan had also launched a door-to-door campaign from Kalapet, where the DMK has also fielded a candidate — A. Senthil, alias Ramesh. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India leaders, including party secretary A. M. Saleem met the DMK leaders to sort out differences in the INDIA bloc. Mr Saleem and Member of Parliament and PCC chief V. Vaithilingam have both filed nomination papers from the Thattanchavady constituency.
Senior CPI leader N. Kalainathan has filed papers from Ozhukarai constituency from where the Congress and the VCK candidates have filed papers. The VCK, apart from Ozhukarai, had filed nominations from Ossudu and Nettapakkam from where the Congress candidates have also filed papers.
Mr Saleem said the Thattanchavady seat was given to the party within the alliance during the 2021 polls. “Further discussions are scheduled on Tuesday night. Only the DMK has initiated the talks, we are yet to hear anything from the Congress party,” he added. The DMK candidates have also filed nominations in constituencies such as Nellithope allotted in previous elections to the Congress. The party was trying to prevail upon those candidates to withdraw their papers by Wednesday.
In Chennai, the DMK president and the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday said since attempts to create divisions among the constituents of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) had failed, conspiracies criticising the seat-sharing arrangements were now being circulated “based on imagination.”
Mr Stalin claimed that during the 10 years of AIADMK rule between 2011 and 2021, the State witnessed deterioration across all sectors. Since coming to power in 2021, the DMK government has undertaken several developmental measures that have helped Tamil Nadu stand out at the national level, he said.
“The contribution of our ideological alliance partners to this achievement has been significant. Recognising this, the seat-sharing talks on behalf of the DMK were conducted in a democratic manner this time as well,” the DMK president said. As new parties joined the alliance, seats had to be allocated accordingly among the constituents, said Mr Stalin, adding that he had personally held talks with some of the alliance party leaders who have been part of the DMK-led alliance for a long time.
He said the DMK and its alliance partners stand united in opposing the communal politics of the BJP government at the Centre and its betrayal of Tamil Nadu. “Ours is an ideological alliance founded on secularism, State rights, social justice, and equality,” he said. With the completion of seat-sharing, excluding constituencies where allies will contest under their own symbols, DMK candidates and those allies contesting on DMK’s symbol will together be in the fray in 175 seats, he added.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Wednesday released the list of constituencies allotted to the constituents of the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu.
Assam, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry will go to the polls on April 9, 2026. In Tamil Nadu, the election will be conducted on April 23. The first phase of elections will be held on April 23, 2026, in West Bengal, and the second phase on April 29, 2026. The counting for all these elections will be held on May 4, 2026.
