Congress' Puducherry govt in crisis; Exodus likely before Rahul arrives as 4th MLA resigns

Trouble seems to be mounting for Congress ahead of the Puducherry Assembly elections as another party MLA has tendered his resignation. A John Kumar resigned from the party on Tuesday, citing “dissatisfaction with the Congress government” in the Union territory. Kumar submitted his resignation to Speaker VP Sivakozhunthu in the assembly. This comes just a day after Congress MLA Mallad Krishna Rao quit the party. 

In the face of this, ahead of Rahul Gandhi's visit to Puducherry on Wednesday, sources tell Republic that all Congress leaders are set to resign. A meeting to this end has been called at noon. Congress leader V Narayanasamy is the Chief Minister of Puducherry.

Kumar, who was an MLA from the Kamaraj Nagar constituency, is the fourth Congress lawmaker to quit the party ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled visit to Puducherry where the Assembly election is due in April-May this year. The former Congress chief will kick-start the party’s poll campaign in the Union territory on February 17.

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Narayanasamy had informed that Rahul Gandhi will address fishermen in Solai Nagar, Muthialpet and later interact with students of the Bharathidasan Government College for women.

Puducherry will go to the Assembly polls along with neighbouring Tamil Nadu, in the next few months. Narayanasamy said Congress would fight the polls in alliance with the parties constituting the secular democratic alliance including the DMK. However, in a big blow, the DMK has named its own CM face, with the ongoing resignation spree thought to be somehow related, targeted at the Congress party itself.

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