Congress wrests lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry from AINRC

Senior Congress leader and former Assembly Speaker V Vaithilingam emerged victorious in the election to lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry. Vaithilingam polled 4,44,981 votes while his nearest rival K Narayanasamy of AINRC, a doctor-turned-politician garnered 2,47,956 votes.

Vaithilingam, a former chief minister of the union territory, won by a margin of 1,97,025 votes to wrest the seat from the opposition AINRC.

Counting of votes which began at 8 am on Thursday ended past midnight.

Vaithilingam was declared elected at 2 am Friday, official sources told PTI.

He had won the Kamaraj Nagar Assembly segment in the 2016 elections and resigned as Speaker in March to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

AINRC had earlier in the day conceded the Thattanchavady Assembly seat to the DMK (an ally of the ruling Congress) in the bypoll held simultaneously with the Parliamentary elections on April 18.