The wait for a government has been a really long one for the Union territory of Puducherry. The voters inked their preference on April 6, and almost a month later, on May 2, the verdict was out. But it took over 45 days to come closer to ministry formation. The bargaining for Cabinet positions that started after the swearing in of N Rangasamy as CM on May 6 finally ended on Wednesday when he submitted a list of members of his ministry to the Lt Governor.
The delay occurred despite the clean sweep by the AINRC-led NDA that has the BJP as the other major player. The BJP’s bargaining for top slots with only six MLAs in its kitty was not acceptable to the CM, whose AINRC has 10 legislators. But the fabric was changed after the CM’s hospitalisation two days after swearing-in, as the BJP nominated three of its partymen as MLAs, besides getting the support of three Independent MLAs. A sulking Rangasamy chose to not take calls from the BJP all through his hospital stay after being afflicted with Covid and even after resuming duty. Finally, good democratic sense prevailed, with the parties breaking the impasse. The BJP initially insisted on the deputy CM position for its prized pre-poll catch, ex-Congressman A Namassivayam, and finally settled for the Speaker’s post for ‘Embalam’ R Selvam. Rangasamy’s list now is a six-member ministry, four from the AINRC, including the CM, and two from the BJP.
The BJP’s initial list had featured Sai J Saravanan Kumar, a first-time MLA who has been with the party for over a decade, A Namassivayam, and John Kumar, another former Congressman. But finally only the first two made the cut. The NR Congress, on its part, ruminated for long as it had a three-pronged dilemma: to choose among three senior MLAs, ensuring representation to Karaikal and getting on board an SC leader.
Puducherry is not new to instability. But without a functioning government, especially during Covid, the exercise of franchise was almost reduced to a mockery of democracy. The new Cabinet, to be sworn in on June 27, has to hit the ground running.