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Veterans vs debutant in neighbouring UT
The lone LS constituency of Puducherry in the neighbouring Union Territory is all set to witness a clash between veterans, V Vaithilingam (Congress) and MAS Subramanian (MNM), and a new face, K Narayanasamy (AINRC).
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With 9.73 lakh voters, Puducherry is one of the smallest constituencies in the country. The Lok Sabha segment covers four regions – Puducherry, Karaikkal, Mahe and Yanam.
One of the oldest constituencies, Puducherry has been a Congress fort for a long time. The national party had won nine out of the 12 Lok Sabha elections in this segment. However, in 2014 general elections, the newly-formed All India N R Congress (AINRC), floated by former Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy in 2011, won from the UT seat.
In the April 18 election, Congress, which has aligned with the DMK, has fielded two-time chief minister Vaithilingam. He resigned from the post of Speaker of Puducherry Assembly ahead of filing his nominations for the LS polls.
On the other hand, AINRC has fielded Narayanasamy, secretary of the Sri Manakula Vinayagar Educational Trust and Mailam Subramaniya Swamy Educational Trust. Narayanasamy is a new face in the UT political turf and will have to overcome the challenge from veteran politicians in this election.
MNM has also fielded an experienced politician, Subramanian, who has been a two-time MLA in Puducherry. He was earlier with the DMK, but he quit the party recently and joined the MNM. He is expected to put up a tough fight to both the DMK and AIADMK alliances.
The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) has fielded Tamilmaran and the Naam Tamilar Katchi is betting on Sharmila Begum. Justifying the allocation of seat to a first-timer, Rangasamy said, “Youngsters bring in youthful and fresh ideas. They will usher in good amount of energy to politics and I am sure Narayasamy will have a long tenure in Puducherry politics.”
Interestingly, a confusion has cropped up in Puducherry politics, as the name of AINRC candidate Narayanasamy was same as that of CM V Narayanaswamy, who is representing the Congress.
Constituency watch - Pondy
K Narayanasamy (AINRC)
Besides being a doctor by profession, Narayanasamy is also the secretary of the Sri Manakula Vinayagar Educational Trust. He is a newcomer to politics. As AINRC had won from the UT in 2014 general election, the party is expecting a favourable result in the constituency.
MAS Subramanian (MNM)
Subramanian, who was earlier with the DMK, is a two-time legislator and a popular face in the constituency. He recently quit the party to join the MNM. He is set to put up a tough battle to the DMK and the AIADMK alliances.
V Vaithilingam (Congress)
He is a two-time Chief Minister of Puducherry (1991 to 1996 and 2008 to 2011) and has also served as the Speaker of Puducherry Assembly. His father, Venkatasubha Reddiar, had also served as the Chief Minister of the Union Territory. Vaithilingam has been credited for providing one of the most stable governments in Puducherry by keeping the crime rate under check.
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