N. Rangaswamy

In this Tamil name, there is no surname or family name. The name Natesan Krishnasamy Gounder is a patronym, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Rangaswamy.
N. Rangaswamy
Rangaswamy in 2015
9th Chief Minister of Puducherry
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2021
Lieutenant Governor
CabinetRangaswamy IV
Preceded byPresident's rule
ConstituencyThattanchavady
In office
16 May 2011 – 6 June 2016
Lieutenant Governor
Preceded byV. Vaithilingam
Succeeded byV. Narayanasamy
ConstituencyKadirgamam
In office
27 October 2001 – 4 September 2008
Lieutenant Governor
Preceded byP. Shanmugam
Succeeded byV. Vaithilingam
ConstituencyThattanchavady
12th Leader of the Opposition in Puducherry Legislative Assembly
In office
22 August 2016 – 22 February 2021
Preceded byV. Vaithilingam
Succeeded byR. Siva
ConstituencyIndira Nagar
Other ministerial positions
Minister for Agriculture and Co-operation in the Government of Puducherry
In office
4 June 1991 – 13 May 1996
Chief MinisterV. Vaithilingam
Minister for Tourism, Education, Public Works, Civil Aviation and Art & Culture in the Government of Puducherry
In office
26 May 1996 – 18 March 2000
Chief MinisterR. V. Janakiraman
Minister for Public Works, Agriculture and Forests in the Government of Puducherry
In office
22 March 2000 – 26 October 2001
Chief MinisterP. Shanmugam
In office
16 May 2016 – 22 February 2021
President of All India N.R. Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 February 2011
General SecretaryM. N. Balan
N. S. Jayabal
Preceded byOffice established
Personal details
BornNatesan Krishnasamy Gounder Rangasamy
(1950-08-04) 4 August 1950
Pondicherry, French India
PartyAll India NR Congress (since 2011)
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Congress (1990–2011)

Natesan Krishnasamy Gounder Rangaswamy (born 4 August 1950) is an Indian politician who is serving as the Chief Minister of Puducherry since May 2021. He has previously served as the chief minister from 2001 to 2008 and from 2011 to 2016. He is the founding president of the political party All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), which was formed after a breakaway from the Indian National Congress in 2011.

Born in 1950, Rangaswamy completed his Bachelor of Commerce from Tagore Arts College and Bachelor of Laws from Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College in Puducherry in 1977. He contested his first election as the Congress candidate from Thattanchavady Assembly constituency during the 1990 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election. He was elected as a member of the Pondicherry Legislative Assembly for four consecutive times from the same constituency, having first won in 1991. He served as a cabinet minister from 1991 to 2001, under three different chief ministers. He became the chief minister of Pondicherry for the first time in October 2001, and was re-appointed to the position after the Congress won the 2006 assembly elections.

Rangaswamy stepped down as the chief minister in August 2008 after internal issues within the party. Citing reconcilable differences, he formed his own party, AINRC, and contested in the 2011 assembly elections. He was elected as a member from the Kadirkamam constituency and was sworn in the chief minister for the third time in May 2016. He served as the leader of the opposition in the assembly from August 2016 to February 2021. His party won the 2021 assembly elections as a part of the National Democratic Alliance and he was sworn in as the chief minister for the fourth time on 7 May 2021.

Early life

Natesan Krishnasamy Gounder Rangaswamy was born on 4 August 1950 in Puducherry to parents Natesan Krishnasamy and Panchali.[1][2] He got his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Tagore Arts College and Bachelor of Laws from Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Puducherry in 1977.[1][3][4]

Political career

Rangaswamy contested his first election as the Indian National Congress candidate from Thattanchavady Assembly constituency during the 1990 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election.[1][5] However, he lost the elections to V. Pethaperumal of the Janata Dal (JD) by 982 votes.[6] However, the fall of the JD-led government led to the elections to the Pondicherry Legislative Assembly in 1991. Rangaswamy contested from the same constituency, and was elected as a member of the legislative assembly, after defeating Pethaperumal by 7,260 votes.[5][7] He was appointed as the minister of agriculture and co-operation in the cabinet led by V. Vaithilingam.[4][5] After he won the 1996 assembly elections,[8] he was appointed as the minister for tourism, education, public works, civil aviation and art & culture in the R. V. Janakiraman cabinet.[4] He won the 2001 assembly elections from Thattanchavady, defeating Pethaperumal for the third time.[9] He served as the minister for public works, agriculture and forests in the Pondicherry government under the chief ministership of P. Shanmugam from March 2000 to October 2001.[4][5]

Rangaswamy was appointed as the chief minister of Puducherry on 27 October 2001.[1][4] After he led the Congress to victory in the 2006 assembly elections, in which he was elected for the fourth consecutive time from the same constituency, he was re-appointed as the chief minister for the second time in May 2006.[1][10] However, following an internal strife within the Congress party, and faced with revolt from his fellow lawmakers, Rangaswamy offered his resignation as the chief minister on 28 August 2008, and was succeeded by Vaithiligam as the chief minister on 4 September 2008.[4][11] Later, on 21 January 2011, he resigned his position as the member of the legislative assembly, and quit the Congress party.[12][13]

Ahead of the 2011 assembly elections, Rangaswamy announced the formation of a new party, All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), on 7 February 2011.[14] In the assembly elections held in April 2011, AINRC contested the elections in an alliance with the J. Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and won 15 out of the 17 seats it contested.[4][15] However, after the results, AINRC formed the government independently, with the support of an Independent, which enabled it to get a majority in the 30-seat assembly.[16] Rangaswamy won from the Kadirkamam Assembly constituency,[17] and was sworn in the chief minister of Puducherry for the third time on 16 May 2011.[18]

In the 2016 assembly elections, AINRC was not part of any coalition after the AIADMK refused an alliance, and contested alone in all the 30 seats.[19] Though Rangaswamy won from the Indira Nagar Assembly constituency,[1] the party won only eight seats in the assembly. Hence, Rangaswamy resigned as the chief minister on 6 June 2016.[20] He later served as the leader of the opposition in the Puducherry assembly from August 2016 to February 2021.[1]

After the Puducherry government led by V. Narayanasamy lost a trust vote in the assembly in February 2021,[21] the 2021 legislative assembly elections were held in April 2021. The AINRC became part of the National Democratic Alliance and allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the AIADMK.[22] The NDA won 16 seats with AINRC winning 10 of the 16 seats it contested in the elections.[23] While Rangaswamy won from Indira Nagar,[23] he lost from the Yanam constituency against independent candidate Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok.[24] He was sworn in as the chief minister of Puducherry for the fourth time on 7 May 2021 with the support of the BJP and independents.[25]

Policies and governance

Rangaswamy is known as "junior Kamaraj" for his simple lifestyle, and soft-spoken nature.[5] He earned the title "Makkal Mudhalvar" (people’s chief minister) for his reforms in education, poverty alleviation, and public welfare.[4] During his tenure as chief minister, he had focused on regional development, local administrative reforms, and improved civic infrastructure.[1] He introduced several welfare and development schemes such as the "Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Housing Scheme" to make Puducherry a hut-free region by providing a ₹0.1 million (US$1,200) subsidy for concrete houses, the "Rajiv Gandhi Breakfast Scheme" offering breakfast and milk to government school students, the "Kamaraj Education Assistance Scheme" reimbursing tuition fees for under privileged students studying in professional colleges under the government quota, distribution of free text books and other equipments to school students, and pension scheme for the aged. He also implemented drinking water facilities through construction of overhead tanks.[1][4][5]

Elections contested and results

Year Constituency Party Votes % Opponent Votes % Result Margin %
1990 Thattanchavady INC 8,521 46.00 JD V. Pethaperumal 9,503 51.31 Lost 982 5.30
1991 12,545 69.71 5,285 29.37 Won 7,260 40.34
1996 9,989 42.95 7,699 33.11 Won 2,290 9.85
2001 14,323 58.90 JD(U) 8,769 36.06 Won 5,554 22.84
2006 27,024 90.16 AIADMK T. Gunasekaran 2,026 6.76 Won 24,998 83.40
2011 Kadirgamam AINRC 16,323 70.02 INC V. Pethaperumal 6,566 28.16 Won 9,757 41.86
2011 Indira Nagar 20,685 83.77 V. Aroumougam 4,008 16.23 Won 16,677 67.54
2016 15,463 52.53 12,059 41.09 Won 3,404 11.44
2021 Yanam 16,477 47.20 IND Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok 17,132 49.07 Lost 655 1.88
2021 Thattanchavady 12,978 55.02 CPI K. Sethu 7,522 31.89 Won 5,456 23.13

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "N Rangaswamy". One India. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Emergency Response Support System". Government of Puducherry. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  3. ^ "N Rangasamy". My Neta. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "N Rangaswamy". Jagranjosh. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Rangasamy's clean image helped him humble Congress in Puducherry". India Today. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  6. ^ "1990 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021.
  7. ^ "1991 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021.
  8. ^ "1996 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021.
  9. ^ "2001 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021.
  10. ^ "N Rangasamy appointed Pondicherry CM". Rediff. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Rangasamy resigns as Pondy CM". India Today. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Rangasamy quits Congress, resigns as MLA". The Hindu. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Rangasamy quits Congress". The New Indian Express. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Rangasamy files application for floating new party". The Hindu. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  15. ^ "AINRC-AIADMK front secures majority in Puducherry". India Today. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Jayalalithaa accuses Puducherry CM of betrayal". The Economic Times. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Puducherry General Legislative Election 2011". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Rangasamy sworn in as Puducherry Chief Minister". India Today. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Tamil Nadu polls 2016: No alliance with AINRC, says AIADMK in Puducherry". Daily News and Analysis. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Puducherry CM Rangasamy resigns". The Hindu. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Congress loses Puducherry". Business Line. 22 February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Puducherry Election 2021: UT registers 81.64% polling as Congress-led SDA locks horns with NDA in bid to regain turf". Firstpost. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Puducherry Election Results 2021: NDA wins in Pondy by bagging 16 seats, here's the list of winners". India Today. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Puducherry General Legislative Election 2021". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  25. ^ "AINRC's Rangasamy sworn-in as Puducherry Chief Minister for fourth time". The Hindu. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
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