AINRC faces tough opponents

Puducherry will be witnessing a multi-cornered contest with the ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC) unlikely to repeat its performance in the upcoming May 16 Assembly elections.

The DMK-Congress combine, which is projected to win at least 10 seats out of the total 20 Assembly constituencies, has emerged as a tough opponent for the ruling party. The AINRC will also face tough fight in several segments against the former ally AIADMK, DMDK, People’s Welfare Front, PMK and the BJP.

With more than 9 lakh voters, Puducherry is the third most thickly populated area in the country where tourism and fisheries are the two primary sector.

“Road safety, drinking water crisis and statehood status are the main issues in Puducherry with people also disappointed with AINRC president and Chief Minister Rangaswamy’s failure to provide employment opportunities to the youths.

“The chief minister had promised to provide thousands of government jobs. It was disappointing to see several hundreds of government employees being dismissed due to financial crunch,” said K Suresh, who is a part-time worker in a hotel here.

He said for the first time Puducherry is heading towards a water crisis. “In the last four months, people have started purchasing drinking water since government water supply is irregular,” Suresh told DH.

Another issue that can severely hamper Rangaswamy’s effort to retain power is road safety.

A first-time voter Pratkisha is hoping that a new government will give importance to road safety measures. The recent National Crime Records Bureau shows that Puducherry has recorded the highest number of accidental deaths per population density. The survey said Puducherry registered 68 deaths per lakh of population, which is much higher than the national average of 32.

In the present situation, an outcome cannot be predicted correctly and political observers do not rule out the possibility of a post-poll alliance here. Though the DMK-Congress combine is strong but is unlikely to win a majority.

The demand of statehood has also become an important issue in Puducherry  this year with political parties having different opinion. With the ruling AINRC insisting state tag since the government could take its own decision, the DMK-Congress is going one step forward and asking for special status for Puducherry. Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Narayanasamy said special category status will ensure that state gets more Central funds.