V. Vaithilingam

V. Vaithilingam
V. Vaithilingam at 27th Flower, Vegetable and Fruit Show, Pondicherry
President of Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee
In office 9 June 2023 (2023-06-09) – 08 May 2026
Preceded by	A. V. Subramanian
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 May 2019
Preceded by	R. Radhakrishnan
Constituency	Puducherry
Majority	136,516 (16.90%)
6th Chief Minister of Puducherry
In office 4 July 1991 – 13 May 1996
Preceded by	M. D. R. Ramachandran
Succeeded by	R. V. Janakiraman
In office 4 September 2008 – 15 May 2011
Preceded by	N. Rangaswamy
Succeeded by	N. Rangaswamy
Speaker of Puducherry Legislative Assembly
In office 12 June 2016 – 21 March 2019
Deputy	V.P. Sivakolundu
Constituency	Kamaraj Nagar
Member of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
In office 13 May 2011 – 23 May 2019
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	A. Johnkumar
Constituency	Kamaraj Nagar
In office 13 May 1985 – 13 May 2011
Preceded by	R. Subbaraya Gounder
Succeeded by	L. Periyasamy
Constituency	Nettapakkam
Personal details
Born	Vaithilingam (1950-10-05) 5 October 1950 Cuddalore, Madras State, India
Party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Sasikala
Children	1 son and 1 daughter
Alma mater	Loyola College, Chennai

V. Vaithilingam (born 5 October 1950) is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress, who currently represents Puducherry in the Lok Sabha. He held the position as the 11th Chief Minister of Pondicherry from 1991 to 1996 and the 16th Chief Minister of Puducherry again from 2008 to 2011. He is a senior legislator serving eight consecutive terms.

He headed the Pondicherry Government from 1991 to 1996 and the Congress Legislative party from 1991 to 2000. His priorities as Chief Minister were to minimize the budget deficit, increase private sector participation in public transport, and improve the health care system. He first became Chief Minister at the age of 40, making him the second youngest Chief Minister of Puducherry.

Early life

He was born in Cuddalore and was raised in his native home Madukarai, Puducherry. After completing his schooling, he went to Loyola College in Chennai and later went to Madukkarai to take care of his family farms. In 1969, Vaithilingam married Miss Sasikala. He served as the Chairman of the Land Development Bank of Puducherry State.

The Vaithilingam family is known for their work as freedom fighters against French rule. His paternal grandfather late Vaithilingam Reddiar was the Mayor of Nettapakkam commune during the French rule in Puducherry. His father V. Venkatasubha Reddiar was a two time Chief Minister of Pondicherry.

Political career

In 1980, at the age of 30, Vaithilingam ran for the Legislative Assembly and lost by a margin of 90 votes. In 1985, he was elected become Public Works and Power Minister, which he served until 1990. From 1991 to 1996 he served as the Chief Minister of Pondicherry. Under his administration, Pondicherry saw growth in the industrial and education sectors. He advocated for smaller government and greater participation of the private sector. Vaithilingam benefited from the economic liberalization policies followed by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.

In 1996 elections, the Indian National Congress became the single largest party, but their alliance lost the elections and Vaithilingam was appointed the Leader of Opposition until 1999. In 2001, he won from Nettapakkam constituency, but was not able to serve as Chief Minister due to being falsely charged with an attempt to corrupt a fellow legislator. He was later acquitted on all charges. During this period, N. Rangaswamy was chosen as Chief Minister and Vaithilingam served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in his cabinet until 2006.

From 2006 to 2008, Vaithilingam served as the Minister of Agriculture and Industries. He was elected Chief Minister in 2008 and he served until 2011. He became Leader of the Opposition in the 2011 election, became Speaker of the House in 2016, and resigned in 2019 after becoming a member of the Parliament of India for Puducherry.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, V. Vaithilingam was chosen to represent the Indian National Congress party and defeated All India N.R. Congress candidate Dr. Narayanasamy Kesavan. In 2024, he was re-elected, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party candidate A. Namassivayam. As part of the Secular Progressive Alliance, he lost to N. Rangaswamy and placed fourth in the 2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election. He was defeated in Thattanchavady Assembly constituency and lost his security deposit.

Electoral history

Legislative Assembly

Year	Constituency	Party		Votes	%	Opponent	Party		Votes	%	Result	Margin	%
2026	Thattanchavady		INC	2,990	12.68	N. Rangasamy		AINRC	10,024	42.51	Lost	7,034	29.83
2016	Kamaraj Nagar			11,618	45.09	P. Ganesan		ADMK	6,512	25.27	Won	5,106	19.82
2011				12,570	59.01	Nara. Kalainathan		CPI	6,541	30.70	Won	6,029	28.31
2006	Nettapakkam			9,166	52.24	V. Muthunarayanan		PMK	7,830	44.63	Won	1,336	7.61
2001				5,984	39.47	K. Dhanraju			4,771	31.47	Won	1,213	8.00
1996				7,563	54.86	V. Muthunarayana Reddiar		IND	5,036	36.53	Won	2,527	18.33
1991				8,095	66.14	R. Subbaraya Counder		DMK	3,782	30.90	Won	4,313	35.24
1990				7,332	55.34	N. Devadass			3,193	24.10	Won	4,139	31.24
1985				6,946	72.94	P. Ramamurthy			2,577	27.06	Won	4,369	45.88
1980			INC(I)	4,076	48.40	R. Subbaraya Gounder		JP	4,201	49.89	Lost	125	1.49

Lok Sabha

• Member of Parliament

Year	Post	Constituency	Party	Opponent	Opposition Party	Result
2019	M.P	Puducherry	INC	Dr. Narayanasamy Kesavan	All India N.R. Congress	Won
2024	M.P	Puducherry	INC	A. Namassivayam	BJP	Won

Comeback

In 2000, Vaithilingam was falsely charged with an attempt to corrupt a fellow legislator. Although he was found not guilty and acquitted on all charges, Vaithilingam lost leadership of the Congress Legislative party. In 2006, he was for the sixth time elected to the legislature and served as Industries and Power Minister in N. Rangaswamy cabinet.