Congress Releases Its List Of 16 Candidates For The Upcoming Puducherry Assembly Elections 2026

Key Points:

The upcoming Puducherry Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on April 9, 2026, for a total of 30 seats. The 33-seat Puducherry Legislative Assembly has 3 additional MLAs who are nominated by the Government of India. A total of 294 candidates are going to contest the legislative polls, according to the official data of the Election Commission of India (ECI), with votes scheduled to be counted on May 4, 2026.

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Congress Releases Final List Amidst Delays

The Puducherry Congress Committee (PCC) announced its final list of 16 candidates for the Puducherry Assembly elections 2026 at a press conference on March 27, 2026, headed by V. Vaithilingam, the MP from Puducherry. Notably, this comes after the last date of withdrawal of nominations on March 26, 2026. The Congress had earlier faced criticism for not releasing the list even after the last date for filing nominations on March 23, 2026.

The candidates are TPR Selvam (Mannadipet); P. Karthikeyan (Ossudu); N. Raja Kumar (Indira Nagar); V. Vaithilingam (Thattanchavady); P. K. Devadoss (Kamaraj Nagar); M. Vaithianathan (Lawspet); G. Rajendiran (Muthialpet); D. Vizayalakshmi (Ariyankuppam); RKR Anantharaman (Manavely); M. Kandasamy (Embalam-SC); G. Anbarasan (Nettapakkam-SC); A. Dinesh Kumar (Nedungandu-SC); R. Kamalakannan (Thirunallar); A. M. Ranjith (Karaikal North); Ramesh Parambath (Mahe) and Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok (Yanam).

V. Vaithilingam, PCC Chief and Puducherry MP, stated that the Congress would contest 16 seats as allocated in the INDIA bloc, while its ally DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) will contest 14 seats. Of the 14 seats DMK was set to contest, it allotted one to the VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi).

Dismissing talks of friendly contests on five seats, Vaithilingam said that they would not be supported by the party and added that the party would take strict action against them. However, recent reports have indicated that Congress candidates from six constituencies will contest against INDIA allies DMK and VCK.

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This internal friction within the INDIA bloc sets the stage for a highly competitive election against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The NDA coalition is led by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy’s All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) contesting 16 seats, alongside the BJP (10 seats), AIADMK (2 seats), and Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (2 seats).

Adding another dimension to the race, actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has entered the fray in alliance with Neyam Makkal Kazhagam. With these multi-cornered contests and shifting allegiances, Puducherry's political landscape remains fiercely contested as the polling date approaches.

(Rh)

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