Puducherry poll battle opens with NDA, DMK-Congress alliance unsettled; TVK adds new variable

Sources in the INDIA bloc and the NDA reveal an interesting picture. The DMK and the Congress remain locked in a prolonged tussle over seat-sharing and leadership. On the other hand, the NDA has formally divided seats but is struggling to decide who contests where.

The nomination process has already begun. Yet, in many constituencies, the candidates are still theoretical. The DMK-Congress negotiations capture the uncertainty most starkly. After a meeting on Saturday night and Monday, both sides agreed only on one thing: to meet again after consulting their respective high commands. One of the discussions itself began late – the DMK delegation arrived an hour after schedule – and quickly moved into contested territory.

The DMK insisted that the aspirations of smaller allies such as the CPI, the CPI(M), and the VCK be addressed first, including the allocation of four seats to them. The Congress, for its part, held firm to what it called a “time-tested” formula: DMK leads in Tamil Nadu, the Congress leads in Puducherry. In many ways, it is a quiet tit-for-tat: the same logic the DMK invokes in Tamil Nadu is now being returned by the Congress in the Union Territory.

And there are sharper disagreements on multiple grounds. The DMK that won more seats than Congress in 2021 is pushing for a larger share, even staking a claim to contest 18 to 20 seats. The Congress, buoyed by its 2024 Lok Sabha performance, is unwilling to concede leadership or space.

When the Congress argues that there has been no drastic change in the political situation to alter the equation in this election, the national party is trying to do what it failed to do in Tamil Nadu with the DMK. The effect of deadlock is visible. At one point, leaders from both sides were unwilling to meet at each other’s offices, requiring intervention to bring them to a neutral venue.

NDA’s hurdle

If the Opposition alliance is struggling to agree on who leads, the NDA has a different problem on its hands. The BJP and AINRC have already split the 30 seats — 14 for the BJP and 16 for the AINRC — but that arithmetic has not translated into clarity on the ground. Aspirants from both parties are staking claims to common constituencies, many of which are currently held by their alliance partner. In several places, leaders have been nurturing parallel campaigns, complicating final decisions.

It is unusual for Puducherry. An alliance that knows its numbers, but not its candidates. The broader contest remains finely balanced. The NDA — led by Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who is still seen as the central figure in Puducherry politics — hopes to leverage his image as the “People’s CM” alongside the BJP’s organisational push and “double-engine” narrative. In 2021, the NDA secured 16 of 30 seats, with AINRC winning 10 and BJP six.

The Opposition, meanwhile, sees an opening in anti-incumbency over issues such as law and order and unmet promises. But that opportunity depends heavily on its unity.

TVK factor

Hovering over both alliances is the presence of smaller and emerging players. The TVK is seemingly drawing youth into public rallies, even if organisationally it remains unproven and untested, while Seeman’s NTK has announced candidates in 28 seats, positioning itself as a consistent third force. Their role may not be to win, but to complicate.

In Puducherry, where margins are thin and loyalties fluid, even small shifts matter. The politics unfolds in a space smaller than the Greater Chennai Corporation, where constituencies feel like extended neighbourhoods. Assembly and Lok Sabha contests in Puducherry hinge less on grand narratives and more on personal equations, blood relationships, local loyalties, and shifting micro-alliances.

For now, however, the most decisive factor may be time, or the lack of it. With nominations open and polling less than a month away, alliances that once appeared settled are still being assembled, piece by piece, conversation by conversation.