PUDUCHERRY: The Congress got a leg up with former NR Congress legislator M Vaithinathan joining the party ahead of the April 6 elections on Friday. He was welcomed by former Chief Minister V Narayanasamy in the presence of Puducherry party President A V Subramanian and Lok Sabha member V Vaithilingam.
The party which lost its Lawspet legislator, former Speaker V P Sivakozhunthu, when he aligned with the BJP, has now roped in Vaithinathan. Contesting as an independent in Lawspet, Vaithinathan was the nearest rival to Sivakozhunthu who won the seat in the 2016 elections. Earlier in 2011, Vaithinathan contested on an NR Congress ticket and defeated Sivakozhunthu.
With the Lawspet seat likely to be contested by the BJP in the NDA, Vaithinathan would not have got an opportunity to contest from there as part of the NR Congress and was looking at other options.
Instead of contesting as an independent once again, Vaithinathan thought it best to contest on a Congress ticket after the party sent feelers to him. “After giving three days of thought, I decided to join the Congress, a secular party,” said Vaithinathan who was accompanied by his wife and a host of supporters.
With Vaithinathan's entry into the party, Lawspet is likely to see a tough fight between the Congress and BJP.