

PUDUCHERRY: VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan on Sunday said the party will contest only the Oulgaret constituency in Puducherry. The party had initially filed nominations in four constituencies due to delay in finalising seat-sharing arrangements ahead of the elections.
However, following negotiations with senior Congress leaders, including Mukul Wasnik, the Oulgaret seat was confirmed to the VCK. “We decided to campaign for the candidates of the alliance in the other three constituencies,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that the Left is not part of the alliance in Puducherry. Efforts were made to allocate seats to them, but it could not be finalised. However, this will not affect the alliance, and we believe the Left parties will also support alliance candidates,” the VCK chief added.
Thiruma reiterated that there was no room for communal politics and expressed optimism that the alliance comprising the Congress, DMK, and VCK would secure victory in both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
He said the participation of Governor (in-charge) Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at an event organised by the RSS-BJP was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. “A complaint has been submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu and the Chief Election Commissioner of India. The governor should be removed,” he said.