A day before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to visit Puducherry to enthuse the party cadres, the V. Narayanasamy government in the Union territory is in deep crisis. The resignations of MLA A. John Kumar and minister Malladi Krishna Rao has plunged the government into a fresh crisis. The crisis is likely to lead to dissolution of the Congress government in the Union territory, two months ahead of its term.
“Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been giving trouble to the Congress-DMK government in Puducherry for the past four-and-half years. In just two weeks, the next election date might be announced. Even in this situation, they are taking all efforts to make the MLAs resign. So, we will start our work to dissolve the government, meet people and win the elections,” said Puducherry Social Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy.
Earlier, on Monday, MLA A. John Kumar had tendered his resignation to the Assembly Speaker V.P. Sivakolundhu. “His resignation is accepted,” said Sivakolundhu, With John Kumar’s resignation, the strength of the Congress in the Puducherry Assembly has come down to 10. When asked whether the Congress-DMK alliance still has the majority in the house, Sivakolundhu said, “It will be discussed and decided later.”
In a house of 30, the Congress now has only 10 MLAs. With the resignation of four MLAs and the disqualification of Dhanavelu, the strength of the Congress, which had 15 legislators, has come down to 10. Earlier, minister Malladi Krishna Rao had resigned; his resignation was also accepted by the speaker.
In January, minister Namasivayam and MLA E. Theepainthan had jumped ship from the Congress to BJP. In July last year, Congress MLA N. Dhanavelu was disqualified due to anti-party activities. The Congress had won 15 seats in the 2016 elections and formed the government with the support of three DMK MLAs and one independent. With the resignations, the strength of the ruling Congress-DMK combine has now come down to 14, equal to that of the opposition camp. The opposition has 11 members: Seven seats are held by NR Congress, led by former chief minister Rangasamy; four by AIADMK and three nominated MLAs from the BJP. One of the BJP MLAs passed away recently.
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“Four Congress MLAs have resigned. This is because Narayanasamy has lost the confidence of the people. He should resign, and the government has to be dissolved,” said AIADMK legislature party leader A. Anbalagan.
In the meantime, the Congress has called for a crucial meeting on Tuesday with the MLAs and ministers to discuss the fate of the government. The meeting is likely to be chaired by Dinesh Gundu Rao, in-charge for the Congress party in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Sources say a decision to dissolve the government is likely to be taken during the meeting, as there are only two more months left for the elections.
However, with all these developments, the BJP, which hardly had any base in the Union territory, seems to be elated. The BJP had actually walked the extra mile to bring the rebels including Namasivayam and Theepainthan into its fold. Sources say Malladi Krishna Rao and John Kumar also might join the BJP.
While the BJP is finding its place in Puducherry, the DMK, which had been part of the Congress alliance in the Union territory, had earlier sent signals of going it alone in the upcoming elections. The plan might spell doom for both the Congress and the DMK.
