Lok Sabha Polls 2024: BJP increases influence in Puducherry politics, makes inroad in South

Puducherry is one of the Union Territories with its own legislature. The UT has 1 Lok Sabha seat. Puducherry is the only UT in the southern States. The politics of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu is complementary. The politics of these States influence each other.

In recent days the politics of Puducherry takes a new shift. The Congress party had gone for downturn in Puducherry like in other parts of the country. On the other hand, like many States the BJP graph had taken big jump in this Union Territory. The BJP’s upsurge in Puducherry can be compared with the party’s similar performance in States of Tripura, Haryana, West Bengal and some other States too. In Puducherry, the BJP only won one seat in the 2001 Puducherry Assembly election. This was the only representation of the BJP before current Assembly. Other applaudable performance of the BJP was in 2004 LS election when the party was runner on Puducherry LS seat.

The BJP fortunes took a big leap in the 2021 Assembly elections when the BJP, in alliance with the All India N.R. Congress (AINRC)  won 6 seats by contesting on 9 seats. Not only that, but the BJP also formed Government with AINRC  in Puducherry.  The BJP did not press for the post of Chief Minister in the coalition government. It is the policy of the BJP to not press for such posts but to go for the expansion of the party. In Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP appointed Mehbooba Mufti as the CM rather than vying for the post.

Similarly, the BJP gave the post of CM to Mayawati in UP in the late 1990s, when the BJP and the BSP decided to go ahead with a rotatory  system of governance. In Karnataka too, the BJP initially gave the CM chair to Kumaraswamy when the JDS and the BJP also decided to go for a rotatory system of governance. Both in Uttar Pradesh and in Karnataka, at the time of the coalition, the BJP has more MLAs than the other party. In Jammu and Kashmir, at the time of the formation of the coalition government, the BJP has more MLAs than Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP.  In Bihar the BJP did not press  Nitish Kumar to share CM’s post with the BJP. All these examples clearly show that rather than going for power, the BJP always tried to expand its base.

In Puducherry too, the BJP is following the same policy. The BJP first forged an alliance with the local political outfit, the AINRC, and in the Assembly elections, the BJP won 6 seats. Again, the BJP is also contesting the Puducherry Lok Sabha seat under NDA coalition. This shows the gradual  strengthening of the BJP is southern States. Through Puducherry, the BJP is also making itself strong in Tamil Nadu. The level of intermingling of the politics of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry can be gauged from the fact that after splitting from the DMK and the formation of AIADMK by late M G Ramachanddran, the AIADMK first formed a government in Puducherry and then in Tamil Nadu. The BJP is also following the pattern of the AIADMK.  The AINRC won the Puducherry LS seat in 2014. If we go by the vote share of the NDA in 2021 Assembly election in Puducherry then the NDA vote share is 43.6 per cent with 37.9 per cent vote share of the INDI Alliance. The BJP is also getting impetus from its Tamil Nadu unit strengthening under joint leadership of K Annamalai and PM Narendra Modi.