PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Congress has thrown its weight behind Lok Sabha member V Vaithilingam as its favoured candidate for the forthcoming parliamentary election for the lone seat in the union territory. Former chief minister and senior party leader V Narayanasamy disclosed the party’s stance, indicating a strategic move towards consolidating support for Vaithilingam’s candidacy.
Narayanasamy said, “We have proposed his name to the party observer in charge of Puducherry, AICC General Secretary Ajay Kumar, during his recent visit to Puducherry.” He added Vaithilingam’s nomination emerged due to his perceived “winnability” and the absence of complaints against him.
Referring to the seat-sharing negotiations within the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu, Narayanasamy clarified discussions for Puducherry would follow the completion of talks in Tamil Nadu. When asked about his candidature, Narayanasamy said was there in the parliament for long and wants to make way for others.
The BJP on the other hand is still searching for people to contest the seat, as they don’t have a candidate, said Narayanasamy, adding it is even considering people from other states.
“The people of Puducherry will not accept anyone from outside,” Narayanasamy asserted, underlining the local sentiment against candidates from outside. He however recalled that there is a precedent set by Mohan Kumaramangalam from Tamil Nadu, who successfully contested and won the Puducherry seat in the past. There has been no one after him.
On whether people of Puducherry would accept if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested from the seat, Narayanasamy refrained from objections, reaffirming his commitment as a party worker. “He is a national leader, and as a party worker how could I object?” he said.