Former Puducherry chief minister N Rangaswamy is set to return to power as the AINRC-led NDA alliance won 16 of the Union Territory’s 30 assembly seats. On the other hand, the Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA), led by the Congress, won eights seats.

A party or alliance needs 17 seats to form the government in Puducherry. 

Rangaswamy’s AINRC won 10 seats, while its junior alliance partner BJP, won six. The DMK won six seats while the Congress won just two. The remaining six seats were bagged by independent candidates.

The counting of voters in the union territory of Puducherry started at 8 am on Sunday to decide the fates of nearly 324 candidates who were in the fray for the 30-member House. 

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Exit polls favoured a return to power for the Rangaswamy-led NDA. According to the exit polls, which were released on April 29, the BJP was poised to win between 16-20 seats, compared to 11-13 seats for Congress.

Currently, President’s rule has been imposed in Puducherry, following the Chief Minister V Narayanasamy-led Congress government’s resignation after the CM failed to prove his majority in the Assembly just before the elections.

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Among the prominent candidates were N Rangasamy of the All India NR Congress (AINRC), who contested from two seats: Thattanchavady and Yanam. He could only win from his traditional Thattanchavady seat, defeating CPI candidate K Sethu Selvam by 5,456 votes. 

The NDA alliance also includes the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which failed to win a single seat. BJP and AIADMK contested from nine and five constituencies respectively.

Congress led the Secular Democratic Alliance (SDA) in the Union Territory and contested from 14 seats. It’s a crucial election for the party that was in power till February.

Its alliance partner, the DMK, contested from 13 seats and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Communist Party of India (CPI), the other SDA members, contested from one seat each.

Puducherry voted in single phase on April 6.