The All India NR Congress (AINRC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have finalised their seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming 2026 Puducherry Assembly elections, deciding to follow the same formula used in the 2021 polls.
The decision was taken after discussions between senior leaders of both parties, including Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, BJP’s Puducherry in-charge Nirmal Kumar Surana, and Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, who is also the founder of the AINRC.
Under the arrangement, the ruling AINRC will contest 16 of the 30 Assembly seats, while the BJP-led combine will contest the remaining 14 seats in the Union Territory.
The alliance had adopted a similar seat-sharing formula during the 2021 Assembly elections, when the two parties contested together as part of the National Democratic Alliance and later formed the government in Puducherry with Rangasamy as Chief Minister.
Party leaders said the agreement would help both parties coordinate their campaign strategy and strengthen the alliance ahead of the elections.