Ruling Congress faces rebellion in Puducherry; MLAs in talks with BJP

BJP, which hardly has any base in Puducherry, is “elated” with the rebellion in Congress and is walking the extra mile to bring the rebels to its fold

Congress in Puducherry is staring at a crisis with two ministers in the V Narayanasamy cabinet and a couple of party legislators opening “back-channel” talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a “lucrative deal.”

The development comes even as the Congress-DMK alliance is under strain with the regional party unilaterally announcing that it wants to contest all 30 seats in the tiny Union Territory.

Informed sources told DH that two ministers and a few legislators, including A Johnkumar who vacated his seat for Narayanasamy to get elected to the legislative assembly in 2016, are in touch with the BJP and might jump the ship any time. The ministers and the legislators are “upset” with Narayanasamy’s style of functioning and feel “suffocated” within the Congress, the sources added.

The BJP, which hardly has any base in Puducherry, is “elated” with the rebellion in the Congress and is walking the extra mile to bring the rebels to its fold with the help of its ally, N R Congress, a splinter group of Congress floated by former Chief Minister N Rangasamy.

“It is an open secret that a senior minister in the Narayanasamy cabinet is in touch with the BJP and is even flaunting it. They have now been emboldened with the DMK raising its voice against the Congress government in a meeting earlier this week. In all, five Congress MLAs, including ministers, are in talks with the BJP,” a Congress leader said.

One of the ministers in touch with the BJP is a known critic of Narayanasamy having lost the Chief Minister’s chair to him in 2016. If the ministers and legislators do join BJP, the Narayanasamy government may be in trouble as it would lose majority.

The said minister is reportedly asking the BJP to project him as the Chief Ministerial candidate. The BJP feels inducting Congress rebels to the party will help it enter the 30-member Puducherry assembly and emerge as a potential king maker in the event of a hung assembly. Currently, all three nominated members of the assembly are BJP leaders.

When contacted, Narayanasamy told DH that there was no problem within the Congress in Puducherry. “I never respond to speculation,” he said.

The development within the Congress comes even as “friendly parties” trying to ensure that the alliance between the national party and the DMK in Puducherry does not break. They fear DMK and Congress contesting the elections separately would only end up helping the BJP.

“It is very imperative for the Congress to keep its flock together and the DMK not to break ranks with the Congress. If the two parties break their alliance, it will only make things easy for the BJP to fish in troubled waters. Congress and DMK should sit together and sort out their differences,” a leader of a DMK ally told DH.