The BJP's dream of leading an alliance in Puducherry may take some more time to be realised. The BJP has now agreed to be part of the alliance led by N R Congress, the principal Opposition party, and is likely to contest in just about half-a-dozen seats.
The alliance between N R Congress and BJP was sealed only after Union Home Minister and BJP's election strategist Amit Shah spoke over the phone to former Chief Minister N Rangasamy.
According to the agreement signed on Tuesday, N R Congress will contest 16 of the 30 Assembly seats leaving the remaining 14 seats to be shared between BJP, and AIADMK, and PMK.
However, the alliance hit rough weather within hours as PMK decided to contest alone after being “upset” at being offered just one seat to contest.
N R Congress, launched by Rangasamy in 2011 three years after he was ousted as Chief Minister by Congress legislators, ruled Puducherry from 2011 to 2016. The party also won the Puducherry Lok Sabha seat in 2014 in an alliance with BJP.
Though the agreement signed between the two parties does not make a mention on the Chief Minister's post, sources told DH that Rangasamy will be projected as the face of the alliance.
“I am happy that we have stitched a formidable coalition in Puducherry. The alliance with BJP which is the ruling party at the Centre will help us get more funds for development of the Union Territory. We will decisively defeat the Congress alliance in Puducherry,” Rangasamy told DH from Puducherry.
The N R Congress-BJP-AIADMK combine will take on the Congress-DMK alliance, which faces anti-incumbency. The Congress government led by Narayanasamy lost the majority just a few days before elections were announced due to resignation by six MLAs.
The BJP, which hardly has any base in Puducherry, is banking on the former Congress legislators to get a foothold in the state. Former minister A Namassivayam, who is related to Rangasamy, and other former Congress leaders are likely to contest on BJP tickets.
BJP had plans to project Namassivayam as its CM face, but the party realised it cannot indulge in any “experiment” just before elections and decided to ally with N R Congress.
The alliance was sealed after hectic negotiations between the BJP team led by Nirmal Kumar Surana, party's Puducherry in charge, and N R Congress for the past few days. Rangasamy played the hardball after Shah, during his visit to Puducherry last month, announced that the NDA government, if elected to power, will be headed by the BJP.