Natesan Rangasamy is set to return as Puducherry chief minister for a remarkable fifth term. His All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) won 12 seats, the BJP four, while the AIADMK and LJK (Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi) won a seat each, taking the NDA tally to 18 in the 30-member assembly, handsomely defeating the Congress-DMK alliance, which got only six. Despite expectations of a closer contest driven by anti-incumbency and alliance arithmetic, Rangasamy’s popularity again proved stronger than the Opposition’s fragmented campaign.
