N Rangasamy; V Vaithilingam

NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: Counting of votes for the Puducherry assembly elections will be held on Monday, with the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the All India NR Congress (AINRC), seeking a second consecutive term in office.The counting will commence at 8 am, and given that the Union Territory has only 30 constituencies, clear and decisive trends are expected to emerge within a few hours.Polling was conducted in a single phase on April 9, recording a historic turnout of 89.83%, surpassing the previous record—85.57% in 2011.

Key fights to watch for

N Rangasamy (AINRC) vs V Vaithilingam (Congress): The high-profile battle in Thattanchavady pits the incumbent chief minister against a former chief minister, making it a decisive contest for the Union terrritory’s leadership. Rangasamy, the sitting Thattanchavady MLA, is aiming for a fifth term as chief minister, having earlier held the post twice as a Congress leader. Vaithilingam, a two-time former CM, currently heads the Puducherry Congress unit and represents the Puducherry’s lone Lok Sabha seat.A Namassivayam (BJP) vs TPR Selvame (Congress): The contest in Mannadipet featured Puducherry home minister and sitting MLA A Namassivayam facing former assembly deputy speaker TPR Selvame, who previously won the seat in 2011 and 2016, making this a closely watched battle.VP Sivakolundhu (AINRC) vs M Vaithianathan (Congress) vs V Saminathan (TVK): The Lawspet assembly cosntituency featured a three-way battle between assembly speaker Sivakolundhu, incumbent legislator Vaithianathan, and Saminathan, a former Puducherry BJP president, the 2021 runner-up.A Johnkumar (BJP) vs L Sambath (DMK): A Johnkumar, Puducherry’s minority affairs minister, took on Sambath, the sitting MLA from the Mudaliarpet constituency.Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok (Congress) vs Malladi Krishna Rao (AINRC): In Yanam—Puducherry’s constituency within Andhra Pradesh—the contest is between incumbent legislator Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok and veteran leader Malladi Krishna Rao, who held the seat for five consecutive terms from 1996 to 2016 (twice as an Independent and thrice later with the Congress).