V. Vaithilingam. File
| Photo Credit: S.S. Kumar
The Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) is preparing to sound the poll bugle for the 2026 Assembly elections with a 15-day long yatra covering the 23 constituencies in Puducherry region of the Union Territory in January 2026.
“The yatra will be held first in Puducherry region. We will travel by foot, interacting with voters and explaining to the public the failures of AINRC-BJP government in Puducherry. By taking out the yatra, we will be launching our campaign for Assembly polls in the Union Territory,” Member of Parliament and PCC chief V. Vaithilingam told The Hindu.
The party would be inviting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi for their participation during different stages of the yatra, he said.
A consultative meeting to discuss the Assembly polls, and specifically to work out the nitty-gritty of taking out the yatra was held in Puducherry three days ago. The meeting was attended by senior leaders of PCC and former Lok Sabha Member of the party from Kerala T.N. Prathapan, who has been designated the AICC in-charge for the Union Territory.
Mr. Vaithilingam said the yatra would be held first in Puducherry and other regions later. The yatra would set the tone for the Assembly polls. “We are burying the defeat of 2021 polls and going ahead afresh with our alliance partners. The party has proved the strength of the alliance in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In the general elections, we were able to establish clear lead in close to all 30 constituencies. The party is facing the electorate with several positive factors this time,” he said.
Asked whether the yatra will cover sitting seats of alliance partner and Principal Opposition DMK, he said, “We will cover all 23 constituencies in Puducherry. We have not reached the election stage. We are not going now into seat arithmetic or leadership role in the alliance. It will be decided in due course and based on a potential candidate’s winnability.”
The Union Territory has 30 Assembly constituencies spread across four regions Puducherry (23), Karaikal (5), Mahe (1) and Yanam (1). In the 2021 polls, the party contested 14 out of the 15 it was allotted in the alliance and won two seats. The Congress did not contest the Yanam seat as part of its electoral strategy then. The DMK, which contested for 13 seats, went on to win 6 seats and became the principal Opposition party in the Assembly. The CPI and VCK contested one seat each.
Published – November 28, 2025 01:03 pm IST
