Puducherry Assembly Elections | Over 300 candidates in fray

Ozhukkarai and Nellithope have maximum of 16 candidates

The April 6 Assembly election to 30 constituencies in the Union Territory will have over 300 candidates of major and minor political parties as well as Independents taking the field after the withdrawal/rejection of affidavits.

The Congress, which leads the Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance, has fielded candidates in 14 seats and is supporting an Independent in Yanam.

The DMK is contesting in 13 constituencies, while the CPI and the VCK have put up candidates in Thattanchavady and Oulgaret respectively.

Led by its founder and former Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, the AINRC, which heads the NDA, has fielded its nominees in 16 constituencies, the BJP in nine and the AIADMK in five. Another ally, the PMK, which did not figure in the seat-sharing arrangement, has gone back on its decision to go it alone and has withdrawn 10 of its candidates and will support the NDA.

The sub-plot in the main battle between the rival fronts is the face-off between the Congress and the AINRC in eight seats and the DMK and the AIADMK in constituencies such as Karaikal South, Orleanpet, Ouppalam and Mudaliarpet. It will be the Congress vs the BJP in Lawspet, Oussudu, Thirunallar and Manavely.

The highest number of candidates in the Union Territory are in Ozhukkarai and Nellithope (16) and the least number in Kadirgamam (6).

Among other constituencies with a large number of candidates are Villianur and Orleanpet (15 each) and Mannadipet, Bahour and Thirubhuvanai (13 each), while constituencies with single-digit contestants are Indira Nagar, Raj Bhavan and Embalam (8) and Kamaraj Nagar and Ariyankuppam (9).

Among regional enclaves, the maximum number of candidates are in Yanam (15), which is one of the two seats where Mr. Rangasamy is contesting, and the fewest candidates are in Mahe (6).

In Karaikal, the highest number of contestants are in Karaikal North (10), where the Congress has fielded its chief A.V. Subramanian, while Karaikal South has the least number of candidates (8) and Nedungadu, Thirunallar and Neravy TR Pattinam have nine candidates.

There are about 116 Independents, averaging between four and five in several seats.