Rangasamy resigns, Vaithilingam to be CM again

N Rangasamy finally resigned as Puducherry Chief Minister on Thursday following months of squabble within the party and the Cabinet.

N Rangasamy finally resigned as Puducherry Chief Minister on Thursday following months of squabble within the party and the Cabinet. V Vaithilingam, former chief minister and Minister for Industries and Power in the present Cabinet, has been chosen as his successor by the Congress Legislative Party on Thursday. Though A Namasivayam will be the only new face in Vaithilingam’s Cabinet, a reshuffle of portfolios is on the cards, said sources.

After the CLP meeting, held under AICC central observer K B Krishnamurthy, Congress MLAs handed over the letter announcing Vaithilingam as their new leader to Lt Governor Govind Singh Gurjjar. Alliance partners DMK and PMK have also given fresh letters of support to the Congress Government.

When Rangasamy handed over his resignation letter to the Lt Governor on Thursday morning, it brought the curtains down on a long drawn political drama. Rangasamy, a politician with an impeccable image, was up against his entire Cabinet, and even against some power centres in Delhi. Though none has raised any corruption charges yet, critics highlighted the lopsided developmental works, with a lion’s share allocated to the Chief Minister’s constituency Thattanchavady.

The difference of opinion became serious, with protests by opposing factions often leading to destruction of public property and administrative mechanism coming to a halt. Insiders say that even this year’s Budget had been prepared the night before it was to be presented in the Assembly. Not a single Cabinet meeting was convened after that as the ministers could not resolve their differences.

The Chief Minister did try to hold on to power by calling on Sonia Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. However, while Sonia seemed to listen to the majority—of the 10 elected Congress members in the UT Assembly, Rangasamy had the backing of only two—Karunanidhi stood by his earlier stand that it was an internal issue of the Congress. The DMK, though officially the Opposition Party with seven MLAs, are supporting the Government from outside.

The last straw was Monday’s CLP meeting where he had to prove his majority to continue in power. On that tense day, when supporters of different factions attacked each other and damaged public transport, it became clear that Rangasamy was up against insurmountable opposition within his own party. The PCC then authorised the Congress president to take a final decision.

Vailthilingam, a 58-year-old veteran who has been elected to the Puducherry Assembly six times, was the Chief Minister between 1991 and 1996. Rangasamy was then a minister in his Cabinet.