Polling in the Union Territory of Puducherry took place in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election, scheduled on April 19, when the Puducherry constituency voted. The total voter turnout from the total 10,20,914 electors in the Union Territory was 78.90%. Smooth, incident-free polling in Puducherry took place on April 19. Competition in the Union Territory is expected to be among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - led NDA, Indian National Congress (INC) - led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
General Election 2024: full scheduleThe Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have also fielded candidates in Puducherry. While the INC has fielded former Puducherry Chief Minister V. Vaithilingam for the seat, the BJP has fielded a former Congress member A. Namassivayam.
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024On the other hand, G. Thamizhvendan is competing on AIADMK ticket. The BSP’s candidate is D. Alangaravelu while the NTK has fielded R. Menaga. The Union Territory’s seat is integral to any party seeking power in the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu, particularly to the BJP as the party aims to grow its reach in the South. However, a key issue essential to Puducherry is a demand for statehood to give adequate powers to the ruling government.
The seat is currently represented by Congress candidate V. Vaithilingam, who is seeking another term. Before 2019, it was represented by All India N.R. Congress (AINRC)’s R. Radhakrishnan. However, the seat was an INC bastion for a long time since its first ever general election in 1967 and was also held by Congress from 2009 to 2014.
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