President Droupadi Murmu has appointed N Rangasamy as Chief Minister of Puducherry. Following the appointment, Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan invited Mr Rangasamy to form a new government in the union territory.

 

With the approval of the President, decks are cleared for the swearing-in ceremony of N. Rangasamy as the new Chief Minister of Puducherry on May 13. Mr Rangasamy is set to assume office for a record fifth term after the AINRC-led National Democratic Alliance secured a comfortable victory in the Assembly elections.

 

Seventy-six-year-old N. Rangasamy had earlier served as Chief Minister of Puducherry from 2001 to 2006 and again from 2006 to 2008 as a Congress leader. After founding the All India NR Congress, he served as Chief Minister from 2011 to 2016 and later headed the AINRC-BJP Alliance government from 2021 to 2026.

 

In the recently held Assembly elections, Mr Rangasamy was elected from both the Thattanchavady and Mangalam constituencies. Earlier on Friday, Mr Rangasamy met the Lieutenant Governor and staked a claim to form the government. He has also submitted letters of support from the elected MLAs seeking permission to form the government. In the 30-member assembly, NDA has the support of 18 MLAs, two more than the majority mark.