Pondicherry: Trouble mounts for Cong govt as one more Cong MLA resigns

According to the Puducherry Assembly house, it is a necessary to have atleast 33 MLAs to form an government. While 30 MLAs will be elected by people's vote, the remaining 3 will be nominated by the Indian Government.

Earlier today, one more ruling Congress legislator A John Kumar, a close confidant of Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, resigned his MLA post, in yet another jolt to the ruling Congress dispensation ahead of the assembly polls due in few months. Kumar, who was elected from the Kamaraj Nagar constituency in 2019 bypoll, is the fourth Congress lawmaker to quit the party ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's visit to Puducherry on Wednesday to kick-start the Congress poll campaign.

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His resignation comes close on the heels of senior party legislator Malladi Krishna Rao, who had earlier quit as Health minister, resigning from the post of MLA on Monday. John Kumar called on Speaker V P Sivakolundhu at his office and handed over his handwritten letter of resignation, official sources said. The Speaker told PTI he was perusing the letter and would take a decision soon. He said he had received Malladi Krishna Rao's resignation letter from the House through fax on Monday night. With his resignation, the strength of the ruling Congress in the territorial assembly has come down to ten and both the treasury and the opposition will now have 14 members each.

Already two Ministers, A Namassivayam and Malladi Krishna Rao, and a Congress member E.Theeppainjan had quit the posts of MLA during the last couple of months while N.Dhanavelou was disqualified for alleged anti-party activities in July last year.

The resignation spree of Congress MLAs has caused a stir in Puducherry politics.

The Narayanasamy regime is in crisis as his party MLAs are resigning their posts pushing the party to the verge of losing majority in the assembly. Following this, Chief Minister Narayanasamy held an urgent consultation meet with the Puducherry legislators. Meanwhile, media reports said that that the entire cabinet in Pondicherry has decided to dissolve, much before other MLAs of the party switch over the camps.