Puducherry Polls: AINRC joins BJP, AIADMK; N Rangasamy to head alliance

New Delhi, Mar 09: The BJP on Tuesday announced that the AINRC will contest 16 seats in the April 6 assembly polls in Puducherry as a constituent of the NDA.

After the alliance talks, BJP in-charge of the union territory, Nirmal Kumar Surana told reporters here that negotiations were held by leaders of AINRC, AIADMK and BJP andthe Rangasamy led party has been earmarked 16 seats while the saffron party and AIADMK have been allotted remaining 14.

"These two parties (BJP and AIADMK) would decide the number of seats for each of them," he said. Surana further said, "The NDA would face the elections here in the name of most successful and popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the alliance is headed in Puducherry by Rangasamy.

Asked who was the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance, Surana said it would be decided post election by the legislature party at that time. Rangasamy asserted that the NDA headed by AINRC would romp home and form the next government in Puducherry.

"We will capture large number of seats to form the government. The AINRC, AIADMK and BJP are constituents of the NDA here," he said. Puducherry State BJP president V Saminathan and AIADMK secretary of Puducherry A Anbalgan were also present at the press meet.

The BJP plans to unleash a high- voltage campaign in Puducherry with a battery of central leaders as it seeks to wrest power in the union territory in the coming assembly elections.

The BJP would field about ten star campaigners in the UT, where elections to the 30-member assembly would be held on April six.

They include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda, and Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Smriti Irani, he told PTI here. Modi and Shah have already launched the party''s campaign in the tiny union territory.

Puducherry is now under President''s rule after the Congress government headed by V Narayanasamy fell on February 22 on being reduced to a minority following a spate of resignation of Congress MLAs and a DMK legislator.