{"id":9989,"date":"2026-04-07T22:54:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=9989"},"modified":"2026-04-07T22:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:54:45","slug":"130082313-cms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=9989","title":{"rendered":"Puducherry assembly polls 2026: Statehood debate takes centre stage – where parties stand | India News – The Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Puducherry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
CongressMP Rahul Gandhi; PM Narendra Modi; TVK chief Vijay<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The demand for statehood for Puducherry\u2014pending for decades\u2014has now become the most talked-about political issue in the former French colony ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.Since the 1960s, after its merger with India, Puducherry<\/a> has remained a Union territory. In this system, the lieutenant governor, who represents the President of India, wields more power than the chief minister. This imbalance has often resulted in clashes between the lieutenant governor and the elected political leadership, a pattern seen in other Union territories with similar arrangements. <\/p>\n

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Watch<\/span><\/p>\n

Puducherry Elections 2026: TVK To Contest Solo, BJP and AINRC Alliance Finalises Seat-Sharing<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The BJP<\/a>, a partner in the outgoing AINRC-led government in Puducherry, has also been the ruling party at the Centre since 2014. Despite this, the long-standing statehood demand remains unresolved.Will this issue work in favour of the opposition Congress-DMK alliance, or can the AINRC-BJP coalition navigate the challenge and retain power?<\/p>\n

How and why Puducherry became a Union territory<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Puducherry, a former French colony, consists of four districts: Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam.Although France transferred the colonies to India on a de facto basis in November 1954\u2014more than seven years after India\u2019s independence\u2014it was only in August 1962 that Puducherry, then known as Pondicherry, formally became part of the Indian Union. It was subsequently accorded the Union territory status in July 1963. <\/p>\n

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Puducherry history<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Modern Puducherry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Officially, the Treaty of Cession, signed between India and France in May 1956, mandated that the four colonies be given a special administrative status.However, with the districts dispersed across three states and speaking multiple languages, and shaped by a strong legacy of French influence, direct integration into any single state becomes impractical, necessitating administration by the Centre.<\/p>\n

Politics behind LG appointment<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Union territories are administered by the President through a lieutenant governor or, in certain cases, an administrator, as specified under Article 239 of the Constitution.Further, Article 239 empowers Parliament to establish a legislative assembly, a council of ministers headed by a chief minister, or both\u2014allowing Pondicherry, which was officially renamed Puducherry in 2006, to have both. This system is similar to the arrangements in Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir.India has five other Union territories\u2014Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep. Each operates without a legislative assembly and is administered by the President through an administrator.Although the lieutenant governor or administrator is formally appointed by the President, the person\u2014usually a senior leader from the ruling party\u2014is recommended by the central government, rendering the process a formality. The largely political nature of these appointments often results in tensions with opposition-led states\/Union territories. Puducherry\u2019s situation is no different.<\/p>\n

How UT status affects governance in Puducherry<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Chief minister N Rangasamy, like his predecessor V Narayanasamy of the Congress<\/a>, has had clashes with the lieutenant governor. While Narayanasamy frequently sparred with then-lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer who later joined the BJP, Rangasamy has faced similar tensions with the current lieutenant governor, K Kailashnathan, a retired bureaucrat who assumed office in August 2024. <\/p>\n

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\"Timeline<\/p>\n

Timeline of Narayansamy vs Bedi clash in Puducherry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In July last year, tensions came to a head when Kailashnathan appointed the director of the Health and Family Welfare department without consulting Rangasamy, who also held the health portfolio. The move led to a stand-off between them.After the chief minister and his ministers stayed away from work for several days, the BJP leadership intervened, and a \u201ctruce\u201d was eventually reached.Rangasamy has frequently expressed frustration with the arrangement, saying it hampers governance in the Union territory. The BJP\u2019s failure to grant statehood\u2014along with its decision to include the newly formed party led by businessman Jose Charles Martin, son of \u201clottery king\u201d Santiago Martin, in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)\u2014nearly led to the AINRC and the BJP contesting the assembly polls separately, before a seat-sharing agreement was eventually announced.<\/p>\n

The case for and against statehood<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

In July 2019, the Supreme Court declined to hear the Centre\u2019s challenge to an earlier Madras high court ruling, which held that the Puducherry lieutenant governor must act on the advice of the council of ministers and should not interfere in the government\u2019s day-to-day affairs. The judgment of the Madras HC\u2014Puducherry falls in its jurisdiction\u2014of April that year came over a year after the Supreme Court\u2019s 2018 verdict on Delhi. Then, a five-judge Supreme Court bench had unanimously ruled that the Delhi lieutenant governor is bound by the advice of the elected chief minister and the council of ministers.Notwithstanding the judgments, political experts cite the following arguments both for and against granting statehood to Puducherry.For:<\/p>\n

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