2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election

2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election
9 April 2026
30[a] of 33 seats in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
17 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered9,50,311 (Decrease 6.01%)[1]
Turnout89.87% (Increase 6.43 pp)[2]
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader N. Rangaswamy R. Siva
Party AINRC DMK
Alliance AINRC+ DMK+
Leader since 2011 2011
Leader's seat Mangalam
(won; retained)
Thattanchavady
(won; vacated)		 Villianur
(Lost)
Last election 25.85%, 10 seats 18.51%, 6 seats
Seats before 10 6
Seats won 12 5
Seat change Increase 2 Decrease 1
Popular vote 200,292 119,036
Percentage 23.12% 13.74%
Swing Decrease 2.73 pp Decrease 4.79 pp
Alliance seats 18 6
Alliance seat change Increase 2 Decrease 2
Alliance popular vote 335,177 272,202
Alliance percentage 38.7% 31.42%
Chief Minister before election

N. Rangaswamy
AINRC

 Elected Chief Minister

N. Rangaswamy
AINRC

2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly elections were held on 9 April 2026 to elect all the 30 members of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 4 May 2026 by the Election Commission of India.

The election recorded a voter turnout of 89.87%, the highest ever for an assembly election in the union territory.

The National Democratic Alliance won a simple majority in the elections with an increased majority and N. Rangaswamy of the All India N. R. Congress was sworn in as the chief minister for the fifth time, with the alliance winning 18 of the 30 elected seats in the union territory.

The opposition Secular Progressive Alliance won only 6 seats with incumbent Leader of Opposition and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader R. Siva losing his own seat. The Indian National Congress was routed as it won only one seat, with its state chief and MP V. Vaithilingam losing his Election deposit and finishing fourth.[3]

Background

Elections to a Legislative Assembly in India are usually held once in five years, and the members of the legislative assembly are directly elected to serve five year terms from single-member constituencies.

The tenure of Puducherry Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 15 June 2026.[4] In the previous assembly elections held in April 2021, the All India N.R. Congress-led National Democratic Alliance formed the state government after winning 16 out of 30 seats in the assembly, with N. Rangaswamy sworn in as the Chief Minister.[5]

In the later part of 2025, the Election Commission of India conducted a Special Intensive Revision after 24 years, to revise the electoral rolls.[6]

Schedule

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the election on 15 March 2026.[7]

Event Date
Date for Nomination 16 March 2026
Last date for filing nominations 23 March 2026
Scrutiny of nominations 24 March 2026
Last date for withdrawal of nomination 26 March 2026
Polling 9 April 2026
Counting of votes 4 May 2026
Deadline for the completion of election process 6 May 2026

Parties and alliances

AINRC-led Alliance

AINRC-led Alliance seat sharing map

The seat sharing for the National Democratic Alliance was finalised on 20 March 2026.

AINRC-led Alliance[b]
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats
All India N. R. Congress N. Rangasamy 16
Bharatiya Janata Party V. P. Ramalingame 10
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam A. Anbalagan 2
Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi Jose Charles Martin 2
Total 30

Secular Progressive Alliance

Secular Progressive Alliance seat sharing map

As per the seat-sharing agreement finalised on 23 March 2026, the Indian National Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) agreed to contest in 17 and 13 seats respectively.[13][14] However, the Congress had already fielded candidates in five seats allocated to the DMK, which resulted in friendly contests between the two parties in these five constituencies.[15]

The DMK allocated one seat from its quota to the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). However, the VCK announced its exit from the alliance on 24 March 2026 citing seat-sharing disagreements.[16] However, on 6 April, the VCK announced that apart from the Oulgret constituency allocated to it, it will support the coalition candidates in the other three seats, where it had already fielded candidates.[17]

Secular Progressive Alliance
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats
Indian National Congress V. Vaithilingam 21[13][15]
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam R. Siva 13[13]
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Deva Pozhilan[18] 4[17]
Total 30+8[c]

TVK–led Alliance

On 22 March 2026, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) announced its candidates for 30 constituencies in Puducherry.[19] Subsequently, Neyam Makkal Kazhagam, led by G. Nehru Kuppusamy, joined the TVK-led Alliance and was allocated two seats.[20]

TVK-led Alliance
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam Vijay[20] 28[20]
Neyam Makkal Kazhagam G. Nehru Kuppusamy[20] 2[20]
Total 30

SNMMK–AIPTMMK Alliance

On 20 March 2026, the S. Ramadoss-led faction of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, formed an alliance with All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AIPTMMK), led by V. K. Sasikala, for the assembly elections in Puducherry.[21] On 25 March 2026, a seat-sharing agreement was signed between G. Sathiyamoorthy of Sengol Needhi Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and Sasikala of AIPTMMK for the elections.[22][23]

SNMMK–AIPTMMK Alliance
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats
Sengol Needhi Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam Sathiyamurthy 10[22]
All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam V. K. Sasikala[24] 4[23]
Total 14

Others

On 7 March 2026, Naam Tamilar Katchi was the first party to announce its candidates for the elections, and announced its intention to contest in 28 of the 30 constituencies in the union territory.[25] The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India, which are part of the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu, withdrew from the alliance and independently fielded candidates in four and two constituencies respectively.[15]

Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats
Naam Tamilar Katchi Seeman[26] 28[25]
Communist Party of India (Marxist) S. Ramachandran[27] 4[15]
Communist Party of India A. M. Saleem[28] 2[15]

Candidates

District # Constituency AINRC+ SPA TVK+
PartyCandidate PartyCandidate[d] PartyCandidate
Puducherry 1 Mannadipet BJP A. Namassivayam INC T. P. R. Selvame TVK K. Bharathithasan
2 Thirubuvanai (SC) AINRC B. Kobiga DMK P. Angalane TVK A. K. Sai J. Saravanan Kumar
3 Ossudu (SC) BJP E. Theeppainthan INC P. Karthikeyan TVK S. Saraganabava
4 Mangalam AINRC N. Rangasamy DMK S. S. Rangan TVK M. K. Sathia Manikkavasagane
5 Villianur AINRC Ravikumar DMK R. Siva TVK R. Ramesh
6 Ozhukarai AINRC K. Narayanasamy VCK Selva. Pushpalatha TVK Sasibalan
7 Kadirgamam AINRC K. S. P. Ramesh DMK P. Vadivelu TVK Jayanthi Rajavelu
8 Indira Nagar AINRC A. K. D. Arumugam INC N. Rajakumar TVK S. Mourougane
9 Thattanchavady AINRC N. Rangasamy INC V. Vaithilingam NMK E. Vinayagam
10 Kamaraj Nagar LJK Jose Charles Martin INC P. K. Devadoss TVK Suman
11 Lawspet AINRC V. P. Sivakolundhu INC M. Vaithianathan TVK V. Saminathan
12 Kalapet BJP P. M. L. Kalyanasundaram DMK A. Senthil Ramesh TVK D. Sasikumar
13 Muthialpet AINRC Vaiyapuri Manikandan INC M. Rajendran TVK J. Prakash Kumar
14 Raj Bhavan BJP V. P. Ramalingame DMK Vignesh Kannan TVK V. J. Chandran
15 Oupalam AIADMK A. Anbalagan DMK Annibal Kennedy TVK S. Siva
16 Orleampeth AIADMK A. Gandhi DMK S. Gopal NMK G. Nehru Kuppusamy
17 Nellithope LJK A. Jayakumar DMK V. Karthikeyan TVK S. Vigneshwaran
18 Mudaliarpet BJP A. Johnkumar DMK L. Sambath TVK N. Manibalan
19 Ariankuppam AINRC C. Aiyappan INC D. Vijayalakshmy TVK Kumaravelu
20 Manavely BJP Embalam R. Selvam INC R. K. R. Anantharaman TVK B. Ramu
21 Embalam (SC) AINRC Mohamdaoss INC M. Kandaswamy TVK V. Tamilselvan
22 Nettapakkam (SC) AINRC Rajavelu INC P. Sadasivam TVK L. Periasamy
23 Bahour AINRC T. Thiagarajan DMK R. Senthilkumar TVK N. Dhanavelou
Karaikal 24 Nedungadu (SC) AINRC Chandira Priyanga INC Dinesh Kumar TVK U. Kamaraj
25 Thirunallar BJP G. N. S. Rajasekaran INC R. Kamalakannan TVK A. Raja Mohamed
26 Karaikal North AINRC P. R. N. Thirumurugan INC A. M. Ranjith TVK A. Vengadesh
27 Karaikal South BJP M. Arulmurugan DMK A. M. H. Nazeem TVK K. A. U. Assana
28 Neravy T. R. Pattinam BJP T. K. S. M. Meenatchisundaram DMK M. Nagathiyagarajan TVK Pranadarti Gareswaran
Mahe 29 Mahe BJP A. Dineshan INC Ramesh Parambath TVK Prijesh M.
Yanam 30 Yanam AINRC Malladi Krishna Rao INC Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok TVK Thota Raju

Surveys and polls

Exit polls

Seat projections
Polling agency Date published Lead
AINRC+ SPA TVK+ Others
Axis My India[29] 29 April 2026 16-20 6-8 2-4 1-3 8-14
Kamakhya Analytics[29] 17-24 4-7 1-7 0-1 10-20
People's Pulse[29] 16-19 10-12 1-3 1-2 4-9
Praja Poll[29] 19-25 6-10 1-6 0 9-19
JVC[29] 15-17 11-13 1-2 0-1 2-6

Voting

According to the Election Commission of India, 9,50,311 voters were eligible to vote in the assembly elections in Puducherry. This includes 4,46,361 male, 5,03,810 female, and 140 third gender voters.[1] The polling was held on 9 April 2026 and the election recorded a voter turnout of 89.87%, the highest ever for an assembly election in the union territory.[2]

Results

By alliance or party

Alliance/ Party[30] Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Contested Won +/-
AINRC+ AINRC 200,292 23.12 ▼ 2.73 16 12 ▲ 2
BJP 105,583 12.19 ▼ 1.47 10 4 ▼ 2
LJK 19,903 2.30 New entry 2 1 New entry
ADMK 9,399 1.09 ▼ 3.05 2 1 ▲ 1
Total 335,177 38.70 Steady 30 18 ▲ 2
SPA DMK 119,036 13.74 ▼ 4.77 13 5 ▼ 1
INC 151,934 17.54 Increase1.83 22 1 ▼ 1
VCK 1,232 0.14 ▼ 0.53 2 0 Steady
Total 272,202 31.42 Steady 30[c] 6 ▼ 2
TVK+ TVK 144,817 16.72 New entry 28 2 New entry
NMK 15,543 1.79 New entry 2 1 New entry
Total 160,360 18.51 New entry 30 3 New entry
Others 2,754 0.32 Steady 30 0 Steady
IND 75,185 8.68 ▼ 4 117 3 ▼ 3
NOTA 6,633 0.77 ▼ 0.52
Total 866,139 100% — 294 30 —

By district

District Seats
AINRC+ SPA TVK+ OTH
Puducherry 23 14 5 3 1
Karaikal 5 3 1 0 1
Mahe 1 0 0 0 1
Yanam 1 1 0 0 0
Total 30 18 6 3 3

By constituency

District Constituency Winner Runner-up Margin
# Name Candidate Party Votes % Candidate Party Votes % Votes %
Puducherry 1 Mannadipet A. Namassivayam BJP 15,918 53.96 T. P. R. Selvame INC 9,808 33.25 6,110 20.71
2 Thirubuvanai (SC) Sai Saravanan Kumar TVK 9,740 32.15 B. Kobiga AINRC 9,039 29.83 701 2.32
3 Ossudu (SC) P. Karthikeyan INC 15,400 49.20 E. Theeppainthan BJP 11,382 36.36 4,018 12.84
4 Mangalam N. Rangaswamy AINRC 17,917 50.61 S. S. Rangan DMK 10,867 30.69 7,050 19.92
5 Villianur B. Ravicoumar AINRC 16,970 43.13 R. Siva DMK 15,000 38.12 1,970 5.01
6 Ozhukarai K. Narayanasamy AINRC 12,635 35.20 Sasibalan TVK 8,401 23.41 4,234 11.79
7 Kadirkamam Azhaganantham Ind 14,633 51.35 K. S. P. Ramesh AINRC 7,629 26.77 7,004 24.58
8 Indira Nagar A. K. D. Arumugam AINRC 12,640 42.13 S. S. Rangan DMK 12,056 40.19 584 1.94
9 Thattanchavady N. Rangaswamy AINRC 10,024 42.51 E. Vinayagam NMK 5,583 23.68 4,441 18.83
10 Kamaraj Nagar Jose Charles Martin LJK 16,592 53.14 P. K. Devadoss INC 6,387 20.45 10,205 32.69
11 Lawspet V. P. Sivakolundhu AINRC 10,578 39.52 M. Vaithianathan INC 9,161 34.23 1,417 5.29
12 Kalapet Ramesh DMK 12,069 38.26 Kalyanasundaram BJP 11,622 36.84 447 1.42
13 Muthialpet Vaiyapuri Manikandan AINRC 8,382 35.58 M. Rajendran INC 7,430 31.54 952 4.04
14 Raj Bhavan Vignesh Kannan DMK 7,304 39.03 V. P. Ramalingame BJP 7,017 37.49 287 1.54
15 Oupalam A. Anbalagan ADMK 9,099 39.51 S. Siva TVK 8,073 35.05 1,026 4.46
16 Orleampeth G. Nehru Kuppusamy NMK 9,960 50.83 S. Gopal DMK 8,759 44.70 1,201 6.13
17 Nellithope V. Cartigueyane DMK 8,226 33.21 Omsakthisekar Ind 7,376 29.78 850 3.43
18 Mudaliarpet A. Johnkumar BJP 12,945 41.49 L. Sambath DMK 10,574 33.89 2,371 7.60
19 Ariankuppam Aiyappan AINRC 14,210 41.18 D. Vijayalakshmy INC 13,607 39.43 603 1.75
20 Manavely B. Ramu TVK 13,822 42.68 Embalam R. Selvam BJP 10,729 33.13 3,093 9.55
21 Embalam (SC) E. Mohandoss AINRC 16,017 50.78 M. Kandaswamy INC 11,956 37.91 4,061 12.87
22 Nettapakkam (SC) Rajavelu AINRC 13,665 47.58 G. Anbarasan INC 6,976 24.29 6,689 23.29
23 Bahour R. Senthilkumar DMK 10,520 38.32 T. Thiagarajan AINRC 8,123 29.59 2,397 8.73
Karaikal 24 Nedungadu (SC) V. Vigneswaran Ind 14,368 50.54 Chandira Priyanga AINRC 9,869 34.71 4,499 15.63
25 Thirunallar G. N. S. Rajasekaran BJP 16,829 60.18 R. Kamalakannan INC 7,303 26.11 9,526 34.07
26 Karaikal North P. R. N. Thirumurugan AINRC 12,731 43.59 A. M. Ranjith INC 10,078 34.50 2,653 9.09
27 Karaikal South A. M. H. Nazeem DMK 12,453 49.15 AVS Sakthivel Prabu INC 6,681 26.18 5,862 22.97
28 Neravy T. R. Pattinam Meenatchisundaram BJP 10,818 40.75 M. Nagathiyagarajan DMK 8,800 33.15 2,018 7.60
Mahé 29 Mahe T. Ashok Kumar Ind 8,375 35.19 Ramesh Parambath INC 7,260 30.50 1,115 4.69
Yanam 30 Yanam Malladi Krishna Rao AINRC 19,863 55.44 Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok INC 15,295 42.69 4,568 12.75

By-elections

Date S.No Constituency MLA before election Party before election Reason for the election Elected MLA Party after election
TBD 9 Thattanchavady N. Rangaswamy All India N. R. Congress Resigned

Notes

  1. ↑ Three members are nominated by the Lieutenant Governor.
  2. ↑ [8][9][10][11][12]
  3. 1 2 Friendly contests in eight constituencies.
  4. ↑ The constituent parties of the Secular Progressive Alliance are engaged in a friendly fight in eight constituencies. This lists only the officially recognised candidates in the respective seats allocated to the constituent parties as per the seat sharing agreement between them.

References

  1. 1 2 "Puducherry publishes final electoral roll; over 9.4 lakh voters registered". Madhyam. 14 February 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Puducherry records highest ever voter turnout of 89.87% in Assembly elections Puducherry records highest ever voter turnout of 89.87% in Assembly elections". All India Radio. 10 April 2026. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Express News Service (7 May 2026). "V Vaithilingam resigns as Puducherry Congress chief after poll rout". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Term of the Houses". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "NR Congress-BJP alliance emerges victorious in Puducherry assembly polls". Business Standard. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "SIR rollout schedule announced in Puducherry". The Hindu. 29 October 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Puducherry election dates: Voting on April 9, results on May 4". The Hindustan Times. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "Puducherry Assembly Polls: AINRC, BJP Seat Sharing Deal". Deccan Herald. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Puducherry: BJP draws clear strategy to fight the election in alliance with CM Rangaswamy's AINRC". The Week. 14 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  10. ↑ "Mansukh Mandaviya appointed BJP in-charge for Puducherry ahead of 2026 polls". The Economic Times. 19 April 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "AIADMK seeks reshuffle of police officers working in suburban and rural areas in Puducherry". The Hindu. 4 July 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Businessman Jose Charles Martin floats new party in Puducherry". The Hindu. 14 December 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 "Puducherry polls: Congress-DMK seal seat-sharing pact; sitting MP Vaithilingam to take on CM Rangasamy". India TV. 23 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "Puducherry Assembly election 2026: Congress, DMK leaders to meet again for seat-sharing talks". The Hindu. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Friendly contest' clouds INDIA bloc's prospects in Puducherry". The New Indian Express. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Puducherry elections 2026: Upset VCK exits DMK-Congress alliance, decides to contest alone". The Hindu. 25 March 2026. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  17. 1 2 "VCK to contest only in Oulgaret constituency in Puducherry". The New Indian Express. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "VCK workers stage demonstration". The Hindu. 5 March 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  19. ↑ "புதுச்சேரி தேர்தலுக்கான த.வெ.க. வேட்பாளர் பட்டியல் வெளியீடு" [TVK releases candidate list for Puducherry elections]. Daily Thanthi (in Tamil). 22 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 "TVK Alliance in Puducherry". News18. 23 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  21. ↑ "Ramadoss-led PMK, Sasikala''s outfit join forces for Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry". ThePrint. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  22. 1 2 "புதுச்சேரியில் செங்கோல் நீதி மக்கள் முன்னேற்றக் கழகத்துடன் சசிகலாவின் புதிய கட்சி கூட்டணி..!" [Sasikala Joined hands with another party in Puducherry]. Dinakaran (in Tamil). 25 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  23. 1 2 "புதுச்சேரி தேர்தலிலும் களம் காணும் சசிகலா: 4 தொகுதிகளில் போட்டி" [Sasikala's Alignment on Pondicherry seat sharing]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 26 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  24. ↑ "Sasikala announces her party's name: All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam". The Hindu. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  25. 1 2 "NTK announces candidates for Assembly polls in Puducherry". The Hindu. 7 March 2026. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  26. ↑ "Seeman backs TVK chief on UT's statehood". DT Next. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "CPI (M) demands scrapping of Smart Meter project in Puducherry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 October 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  28. ↑ "Saleem re-elected secretary of CPI's Puducherry unit". The Hindu. 3 September 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 "NDA To Get Second Straight Term In Puducherry With 16-20 Of 30 Seats: Axis My India Exit Poll". NDTV. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  30. ↑ https://results.eci.gov.in/ResultAcGenMay2026/partywiseresult-U07.htm
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