Lok Sabha results | Congress workers in Puducherry upbeat after party’s resounding win

Congress party's impressive win in Puducherry Lok Sabha polls revives its political presence after facing setbacks in 2021.

The impressive performance of the Congress party in the Parliamentary polls in the Union Territory, with party candidate and incumbent V. Vaithilingam retaining the Puducherry seat with a margin of 1.36 lakh votes, has catapulted the Grand Old party back into the political landscape of the U.T. after the party faced a rout in the 2021 Assembly polls and witnessed an exodus of some of its leaders to the All India N R Congress and BJP.

When the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to the Puducherry Lok Sabha seat were declared on Tuesday night, Mr. Vaithilingam had secured 4, 204, 62 votes out of the total 8, 077, 24 votes polled in the elections held on April 19T. His immediate rival, current Home Minister A. Namassivayam of the BJP could secure only 2, 894, 89 votes.

Mr. Vaithilingam secured a whopping 53% of the vote share and maintained a clear lead in 29 of the 30 Assembly segments of the Puducherry Assembly. Mr. Namassivayam could only garner more votes than the Congress candidate in the Yanam Assembly segment.

Though Mr. Vaithilingam’s margin came down by around 60,000 votes when compared to the 2019 Parliamentary elections, Congress workers believe the present performance was better as the party was fighting against all odds, including low cadre morale after it conceded Opposition space to its ally the DMK, following the debacle in the 2021 Assembly elections.

The Congress had to concede the Opposition party status to the DMK in the Assembly after its ally won six seats compared to the two it notched in the 2021 polls.

“This victory is more sweet than the last Lok Sabha elections. We were in power at that time. Prior to the 2021 elections, many leaders migrated. This election, we were fighting the might of ruling AINRC-BJP and had to campaign with limited resources,” said a beaming functionary of Congress party. He added that a loss in this election could have put the party in a situation like the one it faces in Tamil Nadu.

According to a senior leader, one more debacle would have left the party conceding even more space to the DMK. “The next Assembly elections are two years away. Any further loss could have damaged our prospects in seat-sharing talks and almost relegated us to the position the party faces in Tamil Nadu. It is a big win for the ordinary workers of the party,” he said.