Indira Nagar election results 2026: AINRC's AKD Arumugam defeats TVK’s S Mourogane by 584 votes

All India NR Congress’s AKD Arumugam won the assembly elections from Indira Nagar constituency in Puducherry, defeating Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s S Mourogane by a margin of 584 votes.Indira Nagar constituency saw AKD Arumugam, who won by a record margin in 2021, return to lead the AINRC (NDA) ticket, relying on a deep-rooted local network established over several terms. The Congress (SPA) countered with N Rajakumar, aiming to re-energise the party's traditional base in this central hub. This established rivalry was further pressured by S Mourugane of the TVK as the third challenger. Indira Nagar, a prominent urban assembly constituency in central Puducherry, is known for its well-developed residential clusters and robust civic infrastructure. Long considered an AINRC stronghold, the seat saw a landmark moment in the 2021 assembly elections when VArumugam secured a massive victory, defeating Congress' M Kannan by a margin of 18,531 votes—the highest winning margin recorded in that entire election. This victory followed a historical trend of party dominance; in 2016, AINRC founder N Rangasamy won the seat before resigning to retain Thattanchavady constituency, leading to a by-poll later that year where Arumugam (then with the Congress) briefly took the seat from AINRC control before eventually returning to the party fold. In the most recent 2026 polls held on April 9, Indira Nagar witnessed a record-shattering voter participation rate of 85.12%, outperforming the 82.97% recorded in 2021.The 2026 Puducherry assembly elections took place on April 9, recording a historic voter turnout of 91.23%, with results declared on May 4. The contest shifted from a traditional two-way battle into a high-stakes three-way struggle between the ruling NDA (led by the AINRC and BJP), the SPA (anchored by the Congress and DMK), and the newly formed TVK–NMK alliance headed by actor-politician Vijay.