Puducherry's home minister A. Namassivayam eyes Mannadipet seat in 2026 polls | 5 facts

Arumugam Namassivayam is a senior BJP leader in Puducherry and currently serves as the Union Territory's home minister.

Arumugam Namassivayam, who represents Mannadipet in the Puducherry legislative assembly, is seeking another term from the seat in 2026 polls. He currently serves as the home minister and minister for sports & youth affairs in the government of Puducherry under Chief Minister N. Rangasamy.

A. Namassivayam is from Puducherry and holds a diploma in civil engineering. (File Photo/PTI)

In 2021, Namassivayam won from the Mannadipet constituency under a BJP ticket by 2,750 votes, defeating DMK’s A Krishan. He later contested from the Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 as a BJP candidate with AINRC support, where he finished as a runner-up.

5 Key Facts about A. Namassivayam

• For the 2026 Puducherry assembly elections, the BJP is contesting 10 seats as part of the NDA alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement, with A. Namassivayam fielded from the Mannadipet constituency, where he is seeking to retain the seat after his 2021 victory. The elections were held on April 9 to elect all 30 members of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, with results scheduled to be announced on May 4.
• A. Namassivayam is from Puducherry and has a diploma in civil engineering from Ramu Seetha Polytechnic in Kariapatti, Kamarajar district. Before entering politics, he was involved in agriculture and business, which helped him stay closely connected to local economic activities and everyday issues in the area.
• Namassivayam’s political career saw an important phase when he joined the Congress in the early 2010s, where he secured his first electoral success in 2011 from the Oulgaret constituency, followed by another win in 2016 from Villianoor, marking his rise as a prominent leader in Puducherry politics.
• However, in January 2021, his political career took a big turn when he was suspended from the Congress party for anti-party activities, following which he resigned as MLA and joined the BJP within days, marking a significant change in his political alignment.
• In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, A. Namassivayam was fielded as the BJP candidate from Puducherry with All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) support. However, he lost by a margin of over 1.3 lakh votes, highlighting the difference between his strong state-level presence and the challenges of contesting at the national level.