With issues resolved, Puducherry CM Rangasamy seems firmly in the saddle

Chennai, Sep 5 When N. Rangasamy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry on May 7, 2021, eyebrows were raised as to whether the Government will be able to survive. The main reason for such a question was the alliance the All India NR Congress (AINRC) had with the BJP, the first major foray of the saffron party in the Union Territory of Puducherry.

In the 30-member assembly the AINRC won 10 seats, the BJP 6, the DMK 6, and the Congress 2. Interestingly 6 seats were won by independent candidates.

The BJP which drew in a few senior leaders from the Congress including A. Namasivayam who was a senior minister in the then V. Narayanaswami government of the Congress, had a spectacular run winning 6 seats while the party had drawn a blank in the 2016 elections. The statement of Union home minister Amit Shah that the BJP would form the government in Puducherry during the run-up to the elections had not gone down well with N. Rangasamy as well as his party colleagues and cadres. However, later the BJP said that the Union minister was referring to the formation of a NDA government in Puducherry.

After the results were out the BJP demanded the post of Deputy Chief Minister and this led to Rangasamy being sworn in alone. A couple of days after the swearing-in, the Chief Minister was infected with Covid-19. While he was convalescing in a private medical institution in Chennai, the BJP nominated three of its leaders as MLAs thus taking the strength of the BJP in the assembly to 9. In Puducherry, according to the Constitution, the nominated legislators can participate in voting.

This move of the BJP was seen by political analysts and the opposition as a bid to snatch power and the chief ministership from Rangasamy. Senior DMK leader and Tamil Nadu water resources minister, S. Duraimurugan called the move by the BJP to nominate legislators while the Chief Minister was hospitalised as unbecoming of political morality. VCK leader Thol Thirumavalan went to the extent of stating that the BJP was bent on capturing power in Puducherry on its own. Incidentally, one independent MLA also extended support to the BJP taking its strength to 10.

However wisdom dawned on the BJP and it went back from the demand for Deputy Chief Ministership as Rangasamy, who is a seasoned politician, sent feelers to the DMK and the Congress for a political alliance. Three independents also extended support to Rangasamy and the AINRC taking the strength of the party to 13. The DMK with 6 and the Congress with 2 would have given an easy upper hand to the AINRC and this led the BJP to surrender in front of Rangasamy.

While initially, the relationship between the AINRC and the BJP was tense, soon issues were sorted out and Rangasamy inducted BJP leaders into the cabinet thus leading to a full government.

The Puducherry budget, which was presented on August 26 by the Chief Minister who is also the Finance Minister, is a mix of social welfare schemes and industrial and tourism growth.

The Central government has promised huge assistance to the state and political analysts are of the opinion that the Centre and specifically Prime Minister Narendra Modi have assured Chief Minister N. Rangasamy that there would not be any constraint on financial support for the territory.

Rangasamy is meeting the Prime Minister in the second week of September in New Delhi and sources say that central assistance of Rs 500 crore will be announced after the meeting.

R. Muthukoya, Director, Mahe Study Group, a social and political think tank based out of Mahe, told , "N. Rangasamy is firmly in the saddle and the BJP cannot think of any political moves in Puducherry without his support. However, it seems that they have ironed out the differences and if central assistance to the tune of Rs 500 crore as expected by the Chief Minister is coming to Puducherry, then there would be unprecedented development in both tourism and other industries in the territory and this will lead to the BJP cementing its place in the Union Territory where it was a non-entity."