Chief Minister N. Rangasamy submitting a letter resigning from Thattanchavady Assembly constituency to Assembly Secretary Dayalane in May 2026.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
With the decision of Election Commission of India to hold bypoll in Thattanchavady on October 6, the constituency will gain the distinction of facing two byelections in a span of eight years in the electoral history of Puducherry.While the latest bypoll was necessitated following the decision of Chief Minister and All INRC founder N. Rangasamy to resign from Thattanchavady seat after retaining the second constituency of Mangalam that he won in the April 2026 Assembly polls, the earlier byelection was an after effect of a judicial process in 2018.In October 2018, a Special Court of CBI convicted former Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department C. Anandane and his son Ashok Anand, then a sitting legislator of the AINRC, to one-year rigorous imprisonment each in a disproportionate assets case. The Congress government headed by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy was in power in the Union Territory when the court gave its ruling in the disproportionate asset case.Following Mr. Anand’s conviction, the then Speaker V. Vaithilingam issued a notification in November declaring the Thattanchavady seat vacant. The ruling Congress’ ally DMK fielded K. Venkatesan for the bypoll held in May, 2019. The bypoll resulted in a setback for Mr. Ranagasamy, who was then the Opposition leader, as Mr. Venkatesan won the seat by a margin of 1,539 votes. While Mr. Venkatesan polled 10,906 votes, the AINRC nominee P. Nedounzejiane could secure only 9,367 votes. Now, when the second byelection for the seat was scheduled for October 6, the ruling AINRC has decided to field Mr. Anand again which became clear through an announcement made by the Chief Minister last Sunday. The AINRC sources said his candidature was considered as the High Court had recently issued an order setting aside the sentence given by the special court in the disproportionate asset case.The constituency was represented by the Chief Minister for a long time. After his electoral loss from Thattanchavady in 1990 against his political mentor, former Minister V. Pethaperumal, Mr. Rangasamy never looked back. He won subsequent elections from the segment in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006. After the delimitation exercise in 2011, Mr. Rangasamy shifted to Indira Nagar but returned to his bastion in 2021.Model Code of Conduct in forceAs a sequel to the bypoll schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, Chief Electoral Officer of Puducherry A.S.P.S Ravi Prakash said all measures have been taken to conduct a free and fair election. Adequate Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) have been made available for the smooth conduct of polls. The Model Code of Conduct will be applicable only in the area of Thattanchavady constituency. Political parties were requested to abide by the MCC and extend their cooperation for the conduct of a free, fair and peaceful election, he said.District Collector A. Kulothungan in a release said the use of loud speakers has been banned from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the constituency. Political parties were requested to extend their cooperation for removal of advertisements and defacements in public places, the release added. Published - September 08, 2026 09:38 pm IST
