PUDUCHERRY: Ending weeks of uncertainty, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Monday recommended the allocation of portfolios to the five ministers who had been continuing without departmental responsibilities since taking oath.
Rangasamy called on Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan at Lok Nivas on Monday afternoon and submitted the list of recommended portfolios for approval.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the chief minister confirmed he had handed over the list to the L-G. “The details will be known once the notification is issued by Lok Nivas,” he said. An official notification from Raj Nivas is expected shortly.
The delay in portfolio allocation had drawn criticism from the opposition parties and political observers, who argued several government departments and welfare programmes are affected due to the absence of designated ministers.
Following the conclusion of the Assembly elections, Rangasamy inducted A Namassivayam (BJP) and Malladi Krishna Rao (AINRC) into the cabinet on May 13, while P Rajavelu (AINRC), PV Sivakozhundu (AINRC) and GNS Rajasekaran (BJP) were sworn in as ministers on June 17.
Although unofficial videos circulating after the swearing-in ceremonies claimed to reveal the likely departments, no formal notification has been issued, making the recommendations submitted to the lieutenant governor the first official step towards portfolio allocation.
The move comes ahead of the forthcoming session of the Puducherry Assembly, during which the chief minister would present the budget for 2026-2027. The union government had recently approved a budget outlay of Rs 14,300 crore for the union territory. Earlier, Puducherry Assembly had passed the Vote on Accounts (VOA) for Rs 5,396 crore in the Assembly in February to meet the expenditure of the government for five months, from April to August during the fiscal 2026-2027.
