The Union territory of Puducherry was in the news in late February as the then-ruling Congress-led government lost a vote of confidence and resigned. The Congress had attacked the BJP for allegedly orchestrating the defection of ruling party MLAs to provide a route for the NDA to come to power.
The regular tiffs between the last Congress-led government and former lieutenant-governor Kiran Bedi had led to speculation the BJP had aggressive plans of its own in Puducherry. However, given its limited presence in the Union territory, the BJP is continuing to rely on its allies, the AIADMK and, more importantly, the All India N.R. Congress, a party founded by N. Rangasamy, a former chief minister of Puducherry.
On March 9, the BJP confirmed Rangasamy would lead the NDA for the coming Puducherry Assembly polls. Nirmal Kumar Surana, the BJP in-charge for Puducherry, said the AINRC would contest 16 of the 30 seats in the Puducherry Assembly, with the rest to be contested by the BJP and AIADMK.
Surana was evasive on a question of whether Rangasamy would be projected as the candidate for chief minister, telling The Hindu, "The alliance will be led by Mr Rangasamy. We will face the elections together and the CM post will be decided later."
Origins
Rangasamy is a follower of Amma Bhagwan, whom he believes will bring good fortune for him. Highly spiritual and a hardcore believer, Rangasamy began his political career with the Janata Dal. It was because of his school friend V.M. Pethaperumal, he was drawn into the Janata Dal.
Born as the 10th child to Nadesan Krishnasamy and Panchali in Muthuraiyarpalayam, a small hamlet in interior Puducherry, he went to the government school at Muthuraiyarpalayam. As he was the 10th child, his parents wanted to get rid of him, as their relatives said a 10th child is inauspicious and will not bring good fortune to the family.
But his parents raised him like all his other siblings. His father was an agriculturist and made his living from a small patch of land that they owned in the Muthuraiyarpalayam hamlet. After his tryst with the Janata Dal, Rangasamy went to join the Congress and turned into a staunch worker in the Congress. After completing his BCom at Tagore Arts College, Rangasamy then completed his law degree from Pondicherry Law College.
Longest-serving CM
The post of leader of the NDA has ensured the continuing relevance of Rangasamy, the longest-serving chief minister of Puducherry. Rangasamy had held the post three times in a total tenure lasting 12 years. A prominent face from the majority Vanniyar community in the Puducherry region, Rangasamy was the first chief minister from this community.
He contested his first election from the Thattanchavady constituency in 1990 and lost. He then contested from the same constituency again in 1991 being in the DMK-Janata Dal alliance and won. Even now, Rangasamy has his heart and soul in Thattanchavady.
In 2001, he won his first term as chief minister of a Congress-led government. He was back in the saddle after the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the 2006 Assembly election and won power with its ally, the DMK.
However, Rangasamy was forced to resign in August 2008 after squabbling within the Congress and his cabinet. V.V. Vaithilingam, another former Congress chief minister, was sworn in as his replacement.
Rangasamy remained in the Congress despite losing the chief minister's post, though he kept away from the party. Rangasamy finally quit the party in January 2011. Following his departure from the Congress, Rangasamy formed the AINRC. In the Assembly election in May 2011, Rangasamy's AINRC, in alliance with the AIADMK, won a stunning victory. The AINRC, a 'newborn' party, won 15 seats, allowing it to dump the AIADMK by relying on support from an independent MLA.
Rangasamy won his third term as chief minister in the election as the Congress recorded its worst performance in decades. The Congress had been the single-largest party in every election in Puducherry since 1985, but fell to just 7 seats in the 2011 polls.
Legacy
Rangasamy was bestowed the sobriquet of 'Junior Kamaraj' or Puduvai kamarajar (Kamaraj of Puducherry) by his supporters for his simple lifestyle, which was similar to legendary Tamil Nadu chief minister K. Kamaraj.
Rangasamy won much praise for his welfare schemes such as Centralised Admissions Committee (CENTAC), which allowed for reimbursement of tuition fees for students of engineering and medicine; provision of biscuits and milk to government schoolchildren, in addition to the mid-day meal scheme; old age pension and free LPG cylinders and mixer-grinders.
Rangasamy himself was admired for his approachability and known to move around on a motorcycle in his constituency of Thattanchavady.
However, Rangasamy also earned his share of brickbats during his terms as chief minister. A key criticism against him that led to his resignation in 2008 was the preferential treatment for his constituency of Thattanchavady.
Rangasamy was accused of poor financial management during his tenure in 2011-16, leading to excessive government debt. Rangasamy's government was criticised of not focusing on collecting dues from petrol and liquor dealers and power consumers.
A key plank of Rangasamy when he formed the AINRC in 2011 was to campaign for full statehood for Puducherry; however, the party made little progress in pushing for the demand during its only term in office so far.
Picture for 2021
For the 2021 election, Rangasamy is facing a changed political scenario, given the emergence of the BJP.
Rangasamy is contesting in two seats in the coming election: Thattanchavady and the enclave of Yanam. CPI secretary A.M. Saleem told The Hindu that Rangasamy was contesting from another seat as the Left party had put up a young face in Thattanchavady. Saleem claimed, “He is not sure of winning the seat as our alliance partner, DMK, wrested the seat from his party in the 2019 bypoll. There is no other reason for him to contest from another region."
Moreover, the BJP's increasing profile in Puducherry is expected to cast a shadow over the future of the AINRC. There had been murmurs of dissent in the party over its alliance with the BJP.
On March 16, Rangasamy was gheraoed by AINRC activists for allocating the Mannadipet constituency to the BJP. The seat had been won by AINRC member T.P.R. Selvam in 2011 and 2016.
(With inputs from Lakshmi Subramanian)
