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May 19: The counting of votes for the Puducherry Assembly elections will take place today. All parties seem confident, although exit polls are hinting towards a Congress-DMK victory. Anti-incumbency in the Union Territory has been major factor. The vote-counting is expected to go on till noon. The election commission will announce the results for the 30-seat Legislative Assembly soon after.
The voter turnout in the Union Territory was recorded at 81.94% i.e. nearly 9.41 lac voters. The headcount for women voters was 4.94 lacs, constituting more than half the electorate. A total number of 344 candidates, including 96 independents contested the elections from four districts; Puducherry, Mahe, Yanam and Karaikal.
Contesting the elections, incumbent Chief Minister and founder of All India NR Congress (AINRC), N. Rangasamy from Indira Nagar constituency intends to seek a re-election. However, speculations suggest that the Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister V Vaithilingam from the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), Pondicherry (regional wing of the Indian National Congress) will form the next government. Other major political parties in the fray are; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).
Congress and DMK are the only parties forming an alliance with each other. The Congress will contest from 21 constituencies while the DMK will stand in the remaining nine. The AIADMK, BJP and AINRC are all going into the elections on their own, making this a four-cornered political battle. AINRC and AIADMK had formed an alliance during the previous elections, but separated within a year of coming to power. All of these parties have nominated their candidates in all 30 segments of the UT.
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