Even months after the declaration of results of Puducherry Assembly election on May, 2026 , governance in the Union Territory of Puducherry took a back seat as the ruling allies — the All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were engaged in a protracted tussle over distribution of Cabinet berths, sharing of portfolios and Speaker post in the 100 days since the formation of the second term of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed by Chief Minister and AINRC founder N. Rangasamy.

Though the Chief Minister allocated the portfolios on August 5 after forming the government 84 days earlier, both the parties are yet to finalise the name for Speaker’s post though the budget session of the Assembly has been convened for August 24. In the absence of a functional government, the administrative machinery was run based on the expenditure sanction given by the Assembly for the vote-on-account of ₹5,396 crores presented by Mr. Rangasamy in February this year while he was heading the first term of the NDA government here.

Till the Cabinet took shape with allocation of portfolios on August 5, the officials were sending files related to routine administrative matters to the Chief Minister’s Office. “The administrative machinery was running without any hindrance though matters dealt were routine and on policies initiated during the previous tenure. After the swearing-in ceremony, the Chief Minister used to visit his office but the Ministers avoided coming to office till a few days ago,” an Assembly Secretariat staff told The Hindu.

What is the dispute on?

The NDA comprising AINRC, BJP, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) returned to power with the combine securing 18 out of the 30 Assembly constituencies spread across the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam of the Union Territory.

In the alliance, the AINRC topped the seat tally with 12 seats, followed by BJP’s four seats and one seat each by AIADMK and LJK. The problem between the two allies started as the seat arithmetic changed in 2026 compared to the 2021 elections. While the AINRC improved its performance by securing two more seats in this election, the BJP’s tally came down by two in 2026 polls.

After the results were declared on May 4, Mr. Rangasamy along with two Ministers (one from AINRC and the other from BJP ) were sworn in on May 13. A month later, three more Ministers (two from AINRC and one from BJP) were sworn in on June 17.

The dispute between the two parties that delayed the portfolio allocation was over the crucial portfolio of Home with BJP leadership keen on retaining the subject like in the previous tenure and Chief Minister putting up stiff resistance till the last minute.

The Chief Minister, though yielded to the demand of BJP by giving the Home portfolio to BJP Minister A. Namassivayam, has still not accepted to BJP’s insistence on keeping the Speaker post like during NDA’s first tenure.

With the Assembly being convened by the government for presenting the 2026-27 Budget on August 24, the Union Territory will be heading to an unprecedented situation where the pro-tem Speaker (A. Anbalagan of the AIADMK) will be conducting the proceedings of the session if both parties fail to arrive at a consensus on the choice of Speaker in the next four days.

Opposition criticism

The Opposition Congress, DMK and Left parties were critical of the AINRC-BJP government for the delay in providing a functional Cabinet and electing a Speaker. Former MP and president of Puducherry Maanila Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam M. Ramadass has described first three months of the government as a period of “extension” of the Model Code of Conduct imposed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the Assembly elections.

“The first three months of the fiscal has been wasted. While other four States have rolled out their programmes, we are still in the stage of presenting the budget,” the economist turned politician said.

Ruling AINRC refutes charges on governance

According to a ruling party member, the Chief Minister, immediately after swearing-in had released a statement announcing signing of around 17 files focusing on infrastructure development.

The files signed by the Chief Minister on the first day included approval for the conduct of combined recruitment examinations at graduate, senior secondary and secondary levels for filling up 939 posts in the current financial year. Another major decision taken was towards the utilisation of 750-odd acres of government land available at Sedarapet - Karasur as Industrial Estate.

Files related to allotment of land inside the estate for establishment of a satellite campus and research centre of IIT-Madras and a multi-organ transplant centre-cum-trauma care unit of JIPMER with air ambulance facility were also signed on the first day, the ruling party member said.

“This government is an extension of the earlier one. In the first tenure, the “double engine” (reference to same party/alliance government in Centre and in Union Territory) we have firmly put the territory on the path of progress. Around ₹7,000 crores have been sourced, including from ADB, in the first tenure for various infrastructure programme in the Union Territory and we only need to execute the programmes,” the senior AINRC leader said.

Published - August 19, 2026 01:23 pm IST