Puducherry, March 20 The ruling AINRC and BJP-AIADMK combine reached an agreement on Friday for the Assembly elections in the union territory, where AINRS will contest 16 seats.
Puducherry Chief Minister and AINRC leader N Rangasamy held talks with BJP leader and Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a private hotel here. Accordingly, the BJP will contest the remaining 14 seats.
According to sources from the AINRC, the BJP has allocated two seats each for AIADMK and the Lakshia Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) out of the 14 seats, as per the agreement.
Although Rangasamy maintained that the LJK, led by Jose Charles Matin, should not be included in the NDA led by AINRC, the talks with the central minister ended with the chief minister agreeing to include the LJK in the coalition.
In the 2021 Assembly election, the AINRC contested 16 seats and won 10. The BJP contested in 9 seats and won 6. The AIADMK contested five seats and did not win any.
Single-phase polling for 30 seats in the union territory is scheduled on April 9.