2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election

2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election

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All 30 seats in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
Registered	9,44,211 ( 6.01%) [1]
DMK Leader N. Rangaswamy R. Siva Party AINRC DMK Alliance NDA SPA Leader since 2011 2021 Leader's seat Thattanchavady Mangalam Villianur Last election 25.85%, 10 seats 18.51%, 6 seats Current seats 10 7 Seats needed 6 9   BJP TVK Leader V. P. Ramalingam V. Vaithilingam Vijay (actor) Party BJP INC TVK Alliance NDA SPA Leader since 2023 2023 2024 Leader's seat Thattanchavady Last election 13.66%, 6 seats 15.71%, 2 seats 0 Current seats 6 4 0 Seats needed 10 12 16
Map of the assembly constituencies in Puducherry
Incumbent Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy AINRC

Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Puducherry on 9 April 2026 to elect all the 30 members of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 4 May 2026.

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. ^[2] 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. ^[3]

In the later part of 2025, the Election Commission of India conducted a Special Intensive Revision after 24 years, to revise the electoral rolls. ^[4]

Schedule

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the election on 15 March 2026. ^[5]

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

Voter statistics

According to the Election Commission of India, 9,44,211 voters were eligible to vote in the assembly elections in Puducherry. This includes 4,43,595 male, 5,00,477 female, and 139 third gender voters. ^[1]

Parties and alliances

National Democratic Alliance

The seat sharing was finalised on 20 March 2026. ^[6]

National Democratic Alliance [6]
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats [6]
	All India N.R. Congress			N. Rangasamy [7]	16
	Bharatiya Janata Party			V. P. Ramalingam [8]	10
	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam			A. Anbalagan [9]	2
	Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi			Jose Charles Martin [10]	2
Total					30

Secular Progressive Alliance

The seat sharing was finalised on 23rd March 2026. ^[11]

Secular Progressive Alliance [12] [11]
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats [11]
	Indian National Congress			V. Vaithilingam [13]	16
	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam			R. Siva [13]	12
	Communist Party of India			A. M. Saleem [14]	1
	Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi			Deva Pozhilan [15]	1
Total					30

TVK – NMK Alliance

On 22 March 2026, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam announced its candidates for 30 constituencies in Puducherry. Subsequently, Neyam Makkal Kazhagam entered into an alliance with TVK and was allocated two seats. ^[16]

TVK – NMK Alliance
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam			Vijay (actor)	28
	Neyam Makkal Kazhagam			G. Nehru Kuppusamy	2
Total					30

PMK(R) – AIPTMMK Alliance

On 20 March 2026, Dr. Ramadoss led Pattali Makkal Katchi (Ramadoss) faction had joined hands with V. K. Sasikala led All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam to contest 2026 Puducherry along with Tamilnadu elections. ^{[17] [18]}

PMK(R) – AIPTMMK Alliance
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	Pattali Makkal Katchi (S. Ramadoss) [19]			S. Ramadoss
	All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam [20]			V. K. Sasikala	4
Total

Others

Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	Naam Tamilar Katchi			Seeman [21]	28 [22]
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)			S. Ramachandran [23]	4

Candidates

District	No.	Constituency	NDA			SPA
			Party		Candidate	Party		Candidate
Puducherry	1	Mannadipet		BJP	A. Namassivayam		INC
	2	Thirubuvanai (SC)		AINRC	B. Kobiga		DMK	P. Angalane
	3	Ossudu (SC)		BJP	E. Theeppainthan		INC	P. Karthikeyan
	4	Mangalam		AINRC	N. Rangasamy		DMK
	5	Villianur		AINRC	Ravikumar		DMK	R. Siva
	6	Ozhukarai		AINRC	Narayanasamy		INC	M. Sivasankar
	7	Kadirkamam		AINRC	KSP Ramesh
	8	Indira Nagar		AINRC	AKD Arumugam		DMK	A Aroumougame
	9	Thattanchavady		AINRC	N. Rangasamy		INC	V. Vaithilingam
	10	Kamaraj Nagar		LJK	Jose Charles Martin		INC
	11	Lawspet		AINRC	V. P. Sivakolundhu		INC	M. Vaithianathan
	12	Kalapet		BJP	P. M. L. Kalyanasundaram		DMK	A. Senthil Ramesh
	13	Muthialpet		AINRC	Vaiyapuri Manikandan		INC
	14	Raj Bhavan		BJP	V. P. Ramalingame		DMK
	15	Oupalam		AIADMK	A. Anbalagan		DMK	Annibal Kennedy
	16	Orleampeth		AIADMK	A. Gandhi		DMK	S. Gopal
	17	Nellithope		LJK	J. Justine		INC
	18	Mudaliarpet		BJP	A. Johnkumar		DMK	L. Sambath
	19	Ariankuppam		AINRC	Aiyappan		INC
	20	Manavely		BJP	Embalam R. Selvam		INC	R. K. R. Anantharaman
	21	Embalam (SC)		AINRC	Mohamdaoss		INC	M. Kandaswamy
	22	Nettapakkam (SC)		AINRC	Rajavelu		INC
	23	Bahour		AINRC	T. Thiagarajan		DMK	R. Senthilkumar
Karaikal	24	Nedungadu (SC)		AINRC	Chandira Priyanga		INC
	25	Thirunallar		BJP	G. N. S. Rajasekaran		INC	R. Kamalakannan
	26	Karaikal North		AINRC	P. R. N. Thirumurugan		INC
	27	Karaikal South		BJP	M. Arulmurugan		DMK	A. M. H. Nazeem
	28	Neravy T. R. Pattinam		BJP	T. K. S. M. Meenatchisundaram		DMK
Mahe	29	Mahe		BJP	A. Dineshan		INC
Yanam	30	Yanam		AINRC	Malladi Krishna Rao		INC	Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok

Surveys and polls

Opinion polls

Seat projections

Polling agency	Date published	Sample size	Margin of error				Lead
				NDA	SPA	Others

Vote share projections

Polling agency	Date published	Sample size	Margin of error				Lead
				NDA	SPA	Others

Exit polls

Polling agency	Date published				Lead
		NDA	SPA	Others

Results

By alliance or party

Alliance/ Party				Popular vote			Seats
				Votes	%	±pp	Contested	Won	+/−
	NDA		All India N.R. Congress				16
			Bharatiya Janata Party				10
			All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam				2
			Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi				2
		Total					30
	SPA		Indian National Congress				16
			Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam				12
			Communist Party of India				1
			Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi				1
		Total
	Other parties
	Independents
	NOTA
Total					100%	—		30	—

By district

District	Seats
		NDA	SPA	Others
Puducherry	23
Karaikal	5
Mahe	1
Yanam	1
Total	30

By constituency

District	Constituency		Winner					Runner-up					Margin
	No.	Name	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
Puducherry	1	Mannadipet
	2	Thirubuvanai (SC)
	3	Ossudu (SC)
	4	Mangalam
	5	Villianur
	6	Ozhukarai
	7	Kadirkamam
	8	Indira Nagar
	9	Thattanchavady
	10	Kamaraj Nagar
	11	Lawspet
	12	Kalapet
	13	Muthialpet
	14	Raj Bhavan
	15	Oupalam
	16	Orleampeth
	17	Nellithope
	18	Mudaliarpet
	19	Ariankuppam
	20	Manavely
	21	Embalam (SC)
	22	Nettapakkam (SC)
	23	Bahour
Karaikal	24	Nedungadu (SC)
	25	Thirunallar
	26	Karaikal North
	27	Karaikal South
	28	Neravy T. R. Pattinam
Mahé	29	Mahe
Yanam	30	Yanam

References

1. "Puducherry publishes final electoral roll; over 9.4 lakh voters registered". madhyamamonline.com. 14 February 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
2. "Term of the Houses". Election Commission of India . Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
3. "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.
4. "SIR rollout schedule announced in Puducherry". The Hindu . 29 October 2025. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2 November 2025.
5. "Puducherry election dates: Voting on April 9, results on May 4". The Hindustan Times . 15 March 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
6. "Puducherry Assembly Polls: AINRC, BJP Seat Sharing Deal". Deccan Herald. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
7. "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.
8. "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.
9. "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.
10. "Businessman Jose Charles Martin floats new party in Puducherry". The Hindu . 14 December 2025. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 15 February 2026.
11. "Puducherry polls: Congress-DMK seal seat-sharing pact; sitting MP Vaithilingam to take on CM Rangasamy". India TV . Retrieved 23 March 2026.
12. "Puducherry Assembly election 2026: Congress, DMK leaders to meet again for seat-sharing talks". The Hindu. 15 March 2026. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 20 March 2026.
13. "Congress Working to Strengthen INDIA bloc in Puducherry: Former CM Vaithilingam". The New Indian Express . 7 July 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
14. "Saleem re-elected secretary of CPI's Puducherry unit". The Hindu . 3 September 2025. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 11 September 2025.
15. "VCK workers stage demonstration". The Hindu . 5 March 2025. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 28 November 2025.
16. "TVK Alliance in Puducherry". News18 Tamil Nadu . 23 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
17. "Ramadoss Sasikala to field candidates for all 234 constituencies". The Hindu . 20 March 2026. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
18. "Ramadoss Sasikala formed an unexpected alliance pacted between them for upcoming Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry elections". Asianet News . 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
19. "Ramadoss to reveal Dravidian alliance choice". DT Next . 27 February 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
20. "Sasikala announces her party's name: All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam". The Hindu . 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
21. "Seeman backs TVK chief on UT's statehood". DT Next . 9 December 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
22. "NTK announces candidates for Assembly polls in Puducherry". The Hindu . 7 March 2026. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 11 March 2026.
23. "CPI (M) demands scrapping of Smart Meter project in Puducherry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 October 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.