2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election

2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election

←  2021 9 April 2026 2031 →
←  outgoing members
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 Last election 25.85%, 10 seats 18.51%, 6 seats Current seats 10 6 Seats needed 6 10   BJP Leader V. P. Ramalingam V. Vaithilingam Party BJP INC Alliance NDA SPA Leader since 2023 2023 Last election 13.66%, 6 seats 15.71%, 2 seats Current seats 6 2 Seats needed 10 14
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

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

Secular Progressive Alliance

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

Others

Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	Naam Tamilar Katchi			Seeman [16]	28 [17]
	Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam			N. Anand [18]

Candidates

District	Constituency
			NDA			SPA
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
Mahe	29	Mahe
Yanam	30	Yanam

Surveys and polls

Opinion polls

Vote share projections

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

Seat 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
			Bharatiya Janata Party
			All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
			Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi
		Total
	SPA		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
			Indian National Congress
			Communist Party of India
			Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi
			Makkal Needhi Maiam
		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 election 2026: AINRC, BJP finalise seat sharing, to follow 2021 pattern". The Times of India . 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 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. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2026/Feb/04/dmk-begins-seat-sharing-talks-in-puducherry-allies-stake-claim-to-9-seats#:~:text=DMK%20begins%20seat%2Dsharing%20talks,round%20of%20talks%20on%20Monday.
12. "Congress Working to Strengthen INDIA bloc in Puducherry: Former CM Vaithilingam". The New Indian Express . 7 July 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
13. "CPM urges Puducherry govt to revise SC reservation criteria, enforce Supreme Court ruling". The New Indian Express . 9 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 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. "Seeman backs TVK chief on UT's statehood". DT Next . 9 December 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
17. "NTK announces candidates for Assembly polls in Puducherry". The Hindu . 7 March 2026. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 11 March 2026.
18. "Puducherry polls: TVK to fly solo as AINRC tie-up talks fail". The Times of India . 5 December 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.