E-Paper
TVK's V Saminathan loses Lawspet seat to All India NR Congress in Puducherry
V. Saminathan was once a key BJP face in the union territory of Puducherry and served as the chief of the unit thrice. He joined Vijay-led TVK in 2025.
V. Saminathan is a seasoned political figure from the Union Territory of Puducherry, known for his long association with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and his role in strengthening the party’s presence in the region over several decades. He entered active politics in the early 1990s, at a time when BJP had a relatively limited footprint in Puducherry politics compared to larger regional and national players. Track updates on Puducherry election results
Background
Saminthan has served as the President of the BJP Puducherry unit three times, making him one of the key figures in the party’s state-level structure.
Saminathan belongs to the Sengunthar community and has been politically active in Puducherry, particularly in the Lawspet constituency
In the 2016 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election, he contested from Lawspet as a BJP candidate and received 8,891 votes. He did not win the seat. Despite the loss, his candidature contributed to BJP’s vote presence and organisational visibility in the constituency.
Also read: ‘Numbers fake, wait for sunset’: 5 shocking claims by Mamata as BJP leads in Bengal
In 2017, he was nominated as a Member of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly by the Central Government and served until 2021. This nomination provided him a legislative role without a direct electoral victory.
He also served as the president of BJP puducherry unit before moving to Tamilaga Vettri Kazgham in 2025.
About the constituency
Lawspet is one of the 30 Legislative Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. It falls under the Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency and was established in 1964. The constituency is numbered 11 and has no reservation status. As per electoral records, it has a voter base of around 32,000 electors, making it a moderately sized urban constituency within Puducherry district.
What happened in the previous elections?
Lawspet constituency in Puducherry has shown a highly competitive and shifting electoral pattern over the years, with no single party maintaining long-term dominance. In the 2021 Assembly election, M. Vaithianathan of the Indian National Congress won the seat, continuing the Congress party’s recent influence in the constituency. Before that, in the 2016 election, V. P. Sivakolundhu of the Congress emerged victorious, while BJP candidate V. Saminathan contested and secured 8,891 votes but did not win. The 2011 election saw a change in power when M. Vaithianathan, then representing the All India N.R. Congress, won the seat, reflecting a broader shift in Puducherry politics during that period. In earlier cycles such as 2006 and 2001, the constituency was held by M. O. H. F. Shahjahan of the Congress, showing a phase of Congress strength. Going further back, the 1996 election was won by N. Kesavan of the DMK, indicating the influence of regional parties as well
