Puducherry assembly election 2026: Rangasamy promises to double fixed deposit under CM’s girl child protection scheme

PUDUCHERRY: All India NR Congress founder and chief minister N Rangasamy has promised to double the fixed deposit amount under the chief minister’s girl child protection scheme if the NDA headed by his party is voted back to power. The fixed deposit, which is presently Rs 50,000, will be hiked to Rs 1 lakh for every girl child born in the Union territory. He made the promise while campaigning for the party’s candidate Vaiyapuri Manikandan at Muthialpet on Monday. Former MLA and AIADMK deputy general secretary Manikandan quit the party and joined AINRC after Muthialpet constituency was allotted to the Congress splinter group. As per the scheme, the amount is deposited in the name of the girl child as a fixed deposit in a nationalised bank or govt-approved financial institution. The accumulated amount, along with interest, will be handed over to the beneficiary once she attains the age of 18 years, specifically to assist with her higher education or marriage expenses. The hike is largely seen as an attempt to consolidate the women’s vote bank.The scheme is generally applicable to families belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category and those who meet specific residency requirements in Puducherry. The objective of the scheme is to prevent female infanticide, improve the sex ratio, ensure the financial security of women and empower them to pursue higher education.The AINRC-BJP coalition govt has been announcing several welfare measures ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, including a hike of Rs 500 across all categories of old age pensioners. The govt recently hiked the first instalment of the integrated housing scheme to Rs 1 lakh. The opposition parties, including Congress and DMK, criticised the timing of the announcement, and it is a stunt to garner votes in the polls.AINRC, which leads the NDA, is contesting from 16 seats, while the BJP is contesting from 10 seats, and AIADMK and LJK are contesting two seats each. On the opposition side, Congress is contesting 16 seats and DMK 14. DMK offered one seat to VCK from its quota. However, VCK declined the offer and decided to contest independently from three constituencies. CPI and CPM are contesting independently. In many constituencies, the parties of the India bloc face each other.