When leaders of political parties in neighbouring Tamil Nadu and in other poll-bound States are busy with preparations for the May 16 polls, Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy seems to live by a different clock altogether.
Mr. Rangasamy, who heads the ruling AINRC in the Union Territory, has been engrossed in an extended pilgrimage, seeking divination and performing special poojas at various temples, even as many of his partymen are kept on tenterhooks over whether the party would forge an alliance or go alone.
The Union Territory which has 9.35 lakh voters spread across the 30 constituencies in four regions including Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe. The polls will be held in the same day- May 16 in which Tamil Nadu and Kerala goes to polls.
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Ever since the poll date was announced by the Election Commission, Mr. Rangasamy has been keeping all cards close to his chest, leaving his own partymen and a couple of prospective allies to second guess his next move.
Mr. Rangasamy set out on a brief pilgrimage in the second week of March along with senior party leaders to the jeeva samadhis of his spiritual guru Appa Paithiyam Swami in Salem and Azhukku Swami, the guru of Appa Paithiyam Swamy at Vettaikaranpudur near Pollachi.
Initially, the pilgrimage was expected to be a short one and his party men confidently assured the media that Mr. Rangasamy would announce the party strategy soon after he returned. But, where one pilgrimage ended, another began.
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Peeved over the undue delay in the formulation of a strategy and firming up the list of candidates, sitting MLAs- M.Vaithianathan and P.Karthikeyan have jumped the gun and started door-to-door canvassing. Meanwhile, key party functionaries such as P.Angalane joined Congress and Vaiyapuri Manikandan quit the AINRC and joined the AIADMK.
On the other side of the fence, a couple of MLAs belonging to a rival party, who have been mooting a switch to the AINRC are also turning impatient at decisions being deferred.
Unperturbed over political setbacks at home, Mr. Rangasamy has been continuing his spiritual journey to Tirumala Tirupati, Thiruchendur Murugan Temple and even to less-known temples.
Last week, Mr. Rangasamy turned up at his party office and performed special pooja to his guru Appa Paithyam Swamy and when pressed by the press gave a stock response that “an appropriate decision would be taken at an appropriate time”.
Since, he has undertaken yet another pilgrimage during which he visited Tiruvannamalai and Tiruvidaimaruthur temples.
Talking to reporters in Tiruvidaimaruthur, Mr. Rangasamy said, “Since I have strong faith, I always visit temples. I will talk about alliance or party strategy later.”
Meanwhile, the AIADMK, with which the AINRC was hoping to revive an alliance, has fielded candidates to all constituencies in the Union Territory.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were among the parties which were keen to align with the AINRC. However, on Thursday, the BJP's Central Election Committee in New Delhi, came out with a list of candidates for 16 constituencies in a clear indication that it was going alone. During a recent visit to Puducherry, Union Minister Prakash Javedekar had made it explicit that the BJP “could not wait endlessly”.
Meanwhile, a senior leader of the AINRC, when asked whether time and options were running out, responded that there “was still time” ahead of filing nominations which are scheduled to start on April 22.