The All India N. R. Congress (abbr. AINRC) 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.
The party's official website states expansion of "N. R." in the party's name as '' (, ). 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. 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. 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.
2024 Lok Sabha election
Chief Minister N Rangaswamy announced that AINRC would not field its candidate and support the BJP candidate.
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.
Electoral performance Indian general elections +Lok Sabha ElectionsYearLok SabhaParty leaderSeats contestedSeats wonChange in seatsPercentage of votesVote swingPopular voteOutcome201416thN. Rangasamy1 10.04%255,826201917th1 10.04%247,956
State legislative assembly elections +Puducherry Legislative Assembly ElectionsYearAssemblyParty leaderSeats contestedSeats wonChange in seatsPercentage of votesVote swingPopular voteOutcome201113thN. Rangasamy17 1531.75%221,552201614th30 728.12% 3.63%225,082Opposition202115th16 225.85% 2.27%216,249202616th16 123.12% 2.73%200,292
List of party leaders Presidents No.PortraitNameTerm in officeAssumed officeLeft officeTime in office1N. Rangaswamy(1950–)7 February 2011Incumbent
Legislative leaders List of chief ministers Chief ministers of Puducherry
No.PortraitNameTerm in officeConstituencyMinistryAssumed officeLeft officeTime in office1N. Rangaswamy(1950–)16 May 20115 June 201613thKadirkamamRangasamy III7 May 2021Incumbent15thThattanchavadyRangasamy IV16thMangalamRangasamy V
List of speakers Speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
No.PortraitNameTerm in officeConstituencyAssumed officeLeft officeTime in office1V. Sabapathy(1944–)29 June 201121 May 20164 years, 327 days13thAriankuppam
List of deputy speakers Deputy speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly No.PortraitNameTerm in officeConstituencyAssumed officeLeft officeTime in office1T. P. R. Selvame(1971–)3 November 201121 May 20164 years, 200 days13thMannadipetV. Sabapathy2P. Rajavelu(1961–)26 August 2021Incumbent15thNettapakkamEmbalam R. Selvam
List of leaders of the opposition Leaders of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
No.PortraitNameTerm in officeConstituencyAssumed officeLeft officeTime in office1N. Rangaswamy(1950–)24 August 201622 February 20214 years, 182 days14thIndira Nagar
List of deputy leaders of the opposition Deputy leaders of the Opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly No.PortraitNameTerm in officeConstituencyAssumed officeLeft officeTime in office1P. R. N. Thirumurugan(1972–)24 August 201622 February 20214 years, 182 days14thKaraikal NorthN. Rangasamy
See also List of political parties in India
References