The counting of votes in the 2026 Puducherry Assembly elections was underway on Monday.
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The counting began at 8 am and early trends were awaited.
Although the Puducherry Assembly has 33 seats, three of its members are nominated by the Union government. They enjoy the same powers as the 30 MLAs who are directly elected.
The majority mark in the 30-member Assembly is 16. However, after the three members are nominated, a party or an alliance needs 17 seats to secure a majority.
Exit polls have forecast that the National Democratic Alliance would retain power.
All 30 constituencies in the Union Territory, which has 9.5 lakh voters, went to the polls on April 9. An all-time high voter turnout of 91.2% was recorded. The previous record was 86% in the 2006 polls.
In 2021, the National Democratic Alliance, led by the All India NR Congress, secured power, winning 16 seats. N Rangasamy had become the chief minister.
The alliance, aiming to retain power, is facing the Opposition Secular Progressive Alliance, mainly comprising the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Weeks ahead of the polls, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi had declared on March 24 that it would contest the polls in Puducherry alone.
The Thol Thirumavalavan-led party said that it will field candidates in three constituencies – Ossudu, Nettappakkam and Uzhavarkarai – and...