10 hours ago
Puducherry: Resignation of three nominated BJP MLAs accepted by Speaker
The Puducherry Assembly Secretariat has issued a notification accepting the resignation of K. Venkatesan, V.P. Ramalingam, and R.B. Ashok Babu from the Legislative Assembly as nominated legislators.
The three members belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were appointed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs immediately after the All India N.R. Congress-BJP alliance won the 2021 Assembly polls in the Union Territory.
The legislators had submitted their resignation letters to Speaker R. Selvam on the 'instructions' of the BJP high command on Friday (June 27, 2025) evening, sources in the party said. The MHA would soon issue an order appointing three new members as nominated legislators. The party is likely to give representation to a Dalit member as well as a member from the Karaikal region, the sources said.
'Now that the Speaker has accepted the resignation of the three members, the process to appoint new members has also started. The order is expected to come anytime, and the members will be sworn in early next week,' said a BJP leader.
Meanwhile, the party leadership has been in huddle since Friday evening to elect a new president and also find a replacement for A.K. Sai J. Saravanan Kumar, who had also submitted his resignation from the Chief Minister N. Rangasamy-led Cabinet on Friday. Mr. Rangasamy, the founder-leader of the AINRC, had told the media on Friday evening, after consulting Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan, that the resignation of Mr. Kumar was accepted by the government.
Mr. Kumar is among the leaders considered for the post of president of the BJP in the UT, a party source said, adding that the nomination process for electing the party's Puducherry unit chief will be carried out on Sunday (June 29, 2025).
Protest held
The supporters of Mr. Kumar, meanwhile, staged a demonstration on Friday night in the town, protesting the decision of BJP to replace him. Mr. Kumar was the only leader belonging to the Dalit community in the first National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Puducherry. The supporters raised slogans demanding that Mr. Kumar be made the president of the BJP's Puducherry unit. The protesters later dispersed after the intervention of close associates of the former Minister.
