Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 28, 2026

All India N. R. Congress

The All India N. R. Congress is a regional political party formed by the Chief Minister of Puducherry, N. Rangaswamy in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. He announced the party formation on 7 February 2011 in the party's head office in Pondicherry as a breakaway from the Indian National Congress. It contested the 2011 elections by allying with AIADMK and won the majority. Since 2014, it is part of the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The NDA alliance won the majority in the 2021 elections and is currently the ruling party of the union territory.

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All India N. R. Congress
AbbreviationAINRC
PresidentN. Rangaswamy
General SecretaryN. S. Jayabal
FounderN. Rangaswamy
Founded7 February 2011 (2011-02-07)
Split fromIndian National Congress
Headquarters65/6, E.C.R. Salai, Pakkamudayanpet, Pondicherry – 605008, Puducherry, India.
Student wingG. Sivakumar
Women's wingB. Jayalakshmi
Labour wingS. Ramesh
Peasant's wingV. Sabapathy (Kothandaraman)
ECI StatusState Party
Alliance
  • NDA
    (2014–2016)
    (2019–present)
  • AIADMK+
    (2011–2014, 2021–2023 and 2025–present)
Seats in Rajya Sabha
0 / 245
Seats in Lok Sabha
0 / 543
Seats in Puducherry Legislative Assembly
12 / 33
Number of states and union territories in government
1 / 31
Election symbol
Jug
Party flag
Website
allindianrcongress.com

The All India N. R. Congress (abbr. AINRC)1 is a regional political party formed by the Chief Minister of Puducherry, N. Rangaswamy in the Indian union territory of Puducherry.2 He announced the party formation on 7 February 2011 in the party's head office in Pondicherry as a breakaway from the Indian National Congress. It contested the 2011 elections by allying with AIADMK and won the majority.3 Since 2014, it is part of the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).4 The NDA alliance won the majority in the 2021 elections and is currently the ruling party of the union territory.5

The party's official website states expansion of "N. R." in the party's name as 'நமது ராஜ்ஜியம்' (Namatu rājjiyam, lit.'our rule').1 These letters are also the initials of the party founder N. Rangasamy. The party's official motto is Simplicity, Fairness and Transparency.

2011 Assembly elections

In the 2011 assembly election, the AINRC is allied with J. Jayalalithaa's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Rangasamy formed the government by winning 15 seats in the election without consulting the AIADMK and refusing to share power with the pre-election alliance partner. So Jayalalithaa accused Rangasamy of betraying the coalition.

2014 Lok Sabha election

Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy announced that R. Radhakrishnan, former Speaker of Puducherry Assembly, would be the AINRC candidate for the Puducherry constituency for 2014 Lok Sabha Election.6 Radhakrishnan won the lone Lok Sabha seat from Puducherry.

2016 Assembly elections

AINRC won eight seats in the 2016 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election while Congress emerged as the single largest party with 15 seats.7 Therefore, Congress, along with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam which won two seats, formed the government.

2019 Lok Sabha election

The 2019 Indian general election was held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. Polling for the lone Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency was held on 18 April 2019.

The All India N. R. Congress (AINRC), as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), fielded K. Narayanasamy from the Puducherry constituency. He contested against V. Vaithilingam of the Indian National Congress (INC), the candidate of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

AINRC contested the sole Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry but was defeated by the INC. Narayanasamy received 247,956 votes, accounting for 31.36% of the total votes, while Vaithilingam secured 444,981 votes and 56.27% of the vote share. As a result, AINRC lost the lone Lok Sabha seat that it had won in the previous general election.

2021 Assembly elections

AINRC along with BJP won a clear majority of seats in the 2021 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election which paved way for the NDA to form a government in the Union Territory for the first time.8

2024 Lok Sabha election

Chief Minister N Rangaswamy announced that AINRC would not field its candidate and support the BJP candidate.9

2026 Assembly election

In the 2026 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election, the All India N. R. Congress (AINRC) remained a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and contested 16 seats. The party improved its tally by two seats compared with the 2021 election, winning 12 seats and emerging as the largest party in the alliance.

The NDA, led by AINRC leader and Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, won 18 of the 30 seats in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly and secured a majority. Of the NDA's seats, the AINRC won 12, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won four seats. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) won one seat each.

Rangasamy contested from the Thattanchavady and Mangalam constituencies and won both seats. In Thattanchavady, he defeated Neyam Makkal Kazhagam candidate E. Vinayagam by a margin of 4,441 votes. In Mangalam, he defeated Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate S. S. Rangan by 7,050 votes.

The election result enabled the NDA to retain its majority in the Union Territory, with the AINRC continuing as the leading party in the coalition.10

Electoral performance

Indian general elections

Lok Sabha Elections
Year Lok Sabha Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats Percentage of votes Vote swing Popular vote Outcome
2014 16th N. Rangasamy 1 Increase 1 0.04% Steady 255,826 Government
2019 17th 1 Decrease 1 0.04% Steady 247,956 Lost

State legislative assembly elections

Puducherry Legislative Assembly Elections11
Year Assembly Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats Percentage of votes Vote swing Popular vote Outcome
2011 13th N. Rangasamy 17 Increase 15 31.75% Steady 221,552 Government
2016 14th 30 Decrease 7 28.12% Decrease 3.63% 225,082 Opposition
2021 15th 16 Increase 2 25.85% Decrease 2.27% 216,249 Coalition Government
2026 16th 16 Increase 1 23.12% Decrease 2.73% 200,292 Coalition Government

List of party leaders

Presidents

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term in office
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 N. Rangaswamy
(1950–)
7 February 2011 Incumbent 15 years, 165 days

Legislative leaders

List of chief ministers

Chief ministers of Puducherry

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term in office Assembly
(Election)
Constituency Ministry
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 N. Rangaswamy
(1950–)
16 May 2011 5 June 2016 10 years, 96 days 13th
(2011)
Kadirkamam Rangasamy III
7 May 2021 Incumbent 15th
(2021)
Thattanchavady Rangasamy IV
16th
(2026)
Mangalam Rangasamy V

List of speakers

Speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term in office Assembly
(Election)
Constituency
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 V. Sabapathy
(1944–)
29 June 2011 21 May 2016 4 years, 327 days 13th
(2011)
Ariankuppam

List of deputy speakers

Deputy speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term in office Assembly
(Election)
Constituency Speaker
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 T. P. R. Selvame
(1971–)
3 November 2011 21 May 2016 4 years, 200 days 13th
(2011)
Mannadipet V. Sabapathy
2 P. Rajavelu
(1961–)
26 August 2021 Incumbent 4 years, 330 days 15th
(2021)
Nettapakkam Embalam R. Selvam

List of leaders of the opposition

Leaders of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term in office Assembly
(Election)
Constituency
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 N. Rangaswamy
(1950–)
24 August 2016 22 February 2021 4 years, 182 days 14th
(2016)
Indira Nagar

List of deputy leaders of the opposition

Deputy leaders of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term in office Assembly
(Election)
Constituency Leader of the Opposition
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 P. R. N. Thirumurugan
(1972–)
24 August 2016 22 February 2021 4 years, 182 days 14th
(2016)
Karaikal North N. Rangasamy
See also

See also

References

References