Lok Sabha poll defeat the trigger, BJP rebels put Puducherry govt in crisis

The delegation met BJP national president J P Nadda Wednesday, reportedly urging a Cabinet reshuffle and raising issues of corruption and misgovernance.

The catalyst for the demands is the recent defeat of Puducherry Home Minister A Namasivayam, who was fielded by the BJP, in the Lok Sabha elections. Namasivayam, the nephew of Chief Minister and AINRC leader N Rangasamy, lost to the Congress’s V Vaithilingam by over 1.36 lakh votes.

The legislators have told the high command that the loss was the result of poor administration and ineffective leadership by the three-year-old UT government led by Rangasamy.

Worried AINRC leaders are watching the developments closely to see where this leaves them. Should the three BJP MLAs and the Independent MLAs decide to part ways, the government may be in jeopardy, as also the coalition.

Talking to The Indian Express Thursday evening, Rangasamy said there was nothing he could do in the situation. “Let them (the BJP) solve it.” Asked about BJP MLAs’ charges against his government, including poor governance, Rangasamy laughed: “The government is functioning properly, there are no complaints here. Let them find a solution for the problems within their own party.”

The MLAs who are in Delhi include the BJP’s P M L Kalyanasundaram, A John Kumar and Kumar’s son Richard, as well as Independents M Sivasankaran, P Angalan, and Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok.

A BJP MLA told The Indian Express that one of their demands was that Namasivayam be removed as minister. They also want the BJP to withdraw from the government and only support it from the outside, to prevent being “tainted” by any association with the AINRC. “We do not want to risk our performance in the 2026 Assembly elections,” the MLA said.

Namasivayam was not available for comment.

The other issues raised by the seven MLAs include alleged “rampant” corruption in the AINRC-BJP government, and the administration’s “failure” to address key issues in their constituencies. They said local issues such as a proliferation of resto-bars near schools and religious institutions, and bribery in recruitment processes were among the major issues behind the Lok Sabha poll defeat.

In Puducherry’s 30-member Assembly, the AINRC has 10 seats and the BJP six, putting them just over the majority mark. However, the coalition is backed by six Independents and three nominated legislators, leaving it comfortable as of now. On the Opposition side, the DMK and Congress have a combined strength of eight MLAs.

Incidentally, the BJP had brought down the previous Congress government just two months ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls by poaching key party leaders, including Namasivayam, its virtual No. 2. Half-a-dozen Congress MLAs had followed Namasivayam out of the party.

In the subsequent elections, the AINRC-BJP came to power in Puducherry. However, Namasivayam wasn’t happy as he had reportedly left the Congress on the promise of being made the CM by the BJP.

The BJP MLAs visiting Delhi, who also met Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, have also raised their pending demand of key positions in autonomous bodies and corporations.

A number of BJP leaders in Puducherry blamed the party leadership for “mishandling” the issue. Many pointed fingers at Puducherry BJP chief S Selvaganapathy specifically. “He was brought in by the RSS and has derailed the party equation. Neither does he consult senior local leaders nor does he take informed decisions, leading to the present crisis. Those sitting in Delhi, who do not understand Puducherry politics, are set to fail in this crisis,” a senior BJP leader said.

V Saminathan, who was the Puducherry BJP chief till September 2023, denied any knowledge of a “crisis”. “You should be asking questions to Selvaganapathy,” he said.

Selvaganapathy could not be reached for a comment.