Buzz around the expansion of Puducherry Cabinet is growing as reports suggest that Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has submitted a list of nominees to be inducted into his Cabinet to Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan a few days ago. After the National Democratic Alliance secured majority in the 2026 Assembly elections in the Union Territory, Mr. Rangasamy along with two Ministers were sworn-in on May 13, leaving three Cabinet berths vacant. The Speaker election was also not held though a month had passed since the announcement of election results on May 4. The Ministers sworn-in along with Mr. Rangasamy were Malladi Krishna Rao, representing Chief Minister’s All India N R Congress and A. Namassivayam from the BJP, the two major constituents of the NDA in the Union Territory. Both the parties seemed to have an understanding after the election results to continue with the power sharing formula adopted during the previous tenure of the NDA. While the AINRC had held three Cabinet posts, the BJP had two Ministers besides holding the Speaker’s post. “We have one from our party already inducted, and the name of one more Minister besides the nominee for the Speaker’s post from the BJP were also given to the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister has already submitted the list to the Lt. Governor for forwarding to the Ministry of Home Affairs for clearance. The Chief Minister must have also recommended his nominee/s from the AINRC. We are expecting the swearing-in ceremony to be held soon,” a senior BJP leader told The Hindu. The NDA has come in for much criticism for not having a functional Cabinet with portfolios not allotted yet even to Ministers inducted already. Former Chief Minister V. Narayansamy had recently hit out at the NDA for putting governance at the backdoor because of the delay in having a full Cabinet. Published - June 06, 2026 08:44 pm IST