BJP announces nine candidates for Puducherry polls

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released a list of nine candidates for the upcoming Puducherry Legislative elections, which it is contesting in alliance with All India NR Congress. The Central Election Committee of the BJP met on March 18 to decide on candidates in poll-bound states. According to the list, A Namassivayam will contest from Mannadipet, while E Theeppainthan will contest from Oussoudu (SC). PML Kalyanasundaram will contest from Kalapet, VP Ramalingame from Raj Bhavan and A Johnkumar from Mudaliarpet.Embalam R Selvam will contest from Manavely, GNS Rajasekaran from Thirunallar and A Dineshan from Mahe.The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the completion of the first randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) for the upcoming 2026 assembly elections scheduled to be in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.Once the final list of contesting candidates is prepared, the comprehensive records of both the first and second randomised EVMs and VVPATs will be shared with all candidates to ensure complete transparency in the electoral process, the release said.Additionally, the EC has also concluded the randomisation process for the upcoming bye-elections in Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland, and Tripura. These states are scheduled to go to the polls on April 9, with the final lists for both EVMs and VVPATs now randomised in preparation for the voting.