AIADMK contesting two seats in Puducherry, its lowest ever

The Dravidian major signing the deal for the two seats that the BJP allotted from the 14 seats it secured from the major ally, AINRC, is perceived as an indication of the party losing its ground in Puducherry in recent times.

The 2021 election marked the decline with the party contesting in just five seats as part of its alliance with the BJP, which contested in nine seats and managed to win six and thereby emerging quickly as a major force there.

PUDUCHERRY: The AIADMK has agreed to contest from two seats in the upcoming Puducherry Assembly elections as part of the NDA. This will be the lowest number of seats the party ever contested from the Union Territory.

The Dravidian major signing the deal for the two seats that the BJP allotted from the 14 seats it secured from the major ally, AINRC, is perceived as an indication of the party losing its ground in Puducherry in recent times. The newly-launched Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi of businessman Jose Charles Martin also getting two seats from the BJP is telling of the AIADMK’s diminishing stature.

Interestingly, even before the AIADMK came to power in Tamil Nadu in 1977, its first major electoral victory (besides the Dindigul Lok Sabha bypoll in 1973) was in Puducherry where it came to power in the first elections to the Assembly it contested in 1974. It repeated that success in 1977 as well.

Since then, its fortunes fluctuated but it never contested in less than one-third of the 30 constituencies in the UT despite being part of various alliances. In 2016, the last elections it faced before the demise of its charismatic leader J Jayalalithaa, it adopted the same approach in both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by contesting in its popular ‘Two Leaves’ symbol in all constituencies.

The 2021 election marked the decline with the party contesting in just five seats as part of its alliance with the BJP, which contested in nine seats and managed to win six and thereby emerging quickly as a major force there.

The AIADMK’s state secretary in Puducherry, A Anbalagan, defended the decision to contest in just two seats – Uppalam and Orleampet – stating that it was taken in the interest of ensuring the alliance’s victory. He said the decision was taken in consultation with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Expressing confidence that the alliance would win, he asserted that the party would would demand a share in power in the government. On the party’s priorities, he said the NDA, if elected to power, would focus on improving infrastructure, boosting tourism, and generating employment.