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Seats by party
DMK: 14 seats (46.7%)INC(I): 10 seats (33.3%)JNP: 3 seats (10.0%)IND: 2 seats (6.7%)CPM: 1 seats (3.3%)16 for a majority3016 TO GOVERN
  • DMK1446.7%
  • INC(I)1033.3%
  • JNP310.0%
  • IND26.7%
  • CPM13.3%
The story

The DMK's landslide return

What happened

Power in Puducherry changed hands, with a new party topping the poll.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won 14 of the seats on offer.

That was a gain of 11 seats from the party's previous result.

Its vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — rose to 27.7%.

What changed

This was a landslide election. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's support collapsed, and the runner-up spot went to a Congress faction contesting for the first time.

The Indian National Congress (I) won 10 seats in its very first election here.

The DMK's own vote share rose by +14.2 pp from the previous election.

Notable numbers

A few numbers from that election stand out.

The tightest contest was in Palloor, Puducherry, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, over whoever came second — of just 100 votes.

At Lawspet, Puducherry, the winner's margin stretched to 60.1% of the vote, the widest of the election.

Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — was highest in Nettapakkam, Puducherry, at 87.1%.

Muthialpet, Puducherry had the largest electorate of any seat, with 15,512 registered voters.

The backdrop

Congress, the DMK and the AIADMK have traded power in Puducherry repeatedly, echoing Tamil Nadu's politics next door.

Ask the state

STATE INDICATORS · RBI 2024-25