Over 45 days after forming the government in Puducherry, All India NR Congress and BJP finalised the Cabinet with CM N Rangasamy submitting the list of Ministers to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Monday. As per sources, three AINRC MLAs and two BJP legislators will be a part of the Cabinet.
These ministers are likely to be administered the oath of office and secrecy on Friday. Earlier on June 16, BJP MLA Embalam Selvam was elected unopposed as Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly. The polling for the 2021 Puducherry Assembly polls was held on April 6. Though AINRC managed to bag 10 seats, Rangasamy could win only one of the two seats he contested in the election. On the other hand, DMK and Congress secured victory in 6 and two constituencies respectively. In a first, 6 Independents got elected to the Puducherry Assembly. While NDA comfortably formed the government, speculation was rife that BJP was demanding a large share of the Ministries. BJP and AINRC are virtually neck-to-neck in the 33-member Assembly with 10 seats each. While the opposition claimed that the saffron party is seeking to foist its own CM, BJP denied any rift with AINRC.
