Puducherry Assembly polls | Congress faces litmus test in its bastion

In over a decade since the grand old party vacated the throne of power at the Centre, the Union Territory of Puducherry has clung to its reputation as a Congress bastion. In the three Assembly elections since 2006, the only time it defaulted to a worst case scenario alternative was to choose an offshoot of the Congress, the regional All India NR Congress.

However, that reputation as one of the last remaining Congress bastions in the country comes under severe test as the Union Territory braces for the April 6 Assembly elections to the 30-member House. This year, the Congress-DMK-Left-VCK parties under the Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance (SDPA) have a mountain to climb to overcome a resurgent AINRC spearheaded by its founder and former Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, who leads the NDA charge, a confident BJP that controls the nomination of three nominated legislators to the Assembly and is contesting nine seats, and the AIADMK with its sway over a couple of strongholds in Puducherry and Karaikal.