The party governing Puducherry held on to power, despite losing ground.

The Indian National Congress won 11 of the seats on offer.

That was down from 15 seats at the previous election.

Its vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — slipped by -7.6 pp.

The runner-up spot changed hands, and a new national party made its first appearance in the assembly.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam took second place with 9 seats.

Meanwhile, the party that had once governed the territory saw its support collapse again.

This was also the first Puducherry election for the Janata Dal.

A few numbers from that election stand out.

The closest race was in Cotchery, Puducherry, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, over whoever came second — of just 140 votes.

The widest margin was in Neduncadu, Puducherry, at 32.3% of the vote.

Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — was highest in Yanam, Puducherry, at 85.0%.

It was lowest in Bussy, Puducherry, at 58.3%.

Since its first election, Puducherry's assembly has almost always needed more than one party to govern.