The ruling All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) candidate, backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Ashok Anand, has won the Thattanchavady bypoll in Puducherry with a margin of 8,482 votes. His margin of victory was almost double that of Puducherry Chief Minister and AINRC founder N. Rangasamy, who won the seat in the April 2026 Assembly elections held in the Union Territory.

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The bypoll was conducted after Mr. Rangasamy vacated the seat while retaining the Mangalam seat in the Assembly polls. Considered a pocket borough of the Chief Minister, Thattanchavady was won by Mr. Rangasamy by a margin of 4,441 votes about six months ago in the Assembly polls.

When the votes were counted on Friday (October 9, 2026) for the byelection held on October 6, Mr. Anand secured 13,358 votes out of the total 21,756 votes polled in the constituency. His nearest rival, E. Vinayagam of the Congress party, supported by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), got 4,876 votes, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate K. Sethu Selvam finished third with 2,664 votes.

Mr. Anand had established a clear lead in all four rounds and also secured a majority of the postal ballots. Except for the Congress candidate, all the other nine candidates, including Communist Party of India (CPI) secretary A.M. Saleem, who was fielded by the party in the constituency, and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s (NTK) S. Karthikumari, forfeited their deposits. While the CPI and NTK candidates secured 310 and 172 votes, respectively, around 225 voters chose the NOTA option in the bypoll.

The bypoll has not altered the seat distribution in the 16th Puducherry Assembly, with the National Democratic Alliance (comprising AINRC (12 seats), BJP (four), AIADMK (one) and Latchi Jananayaka Katchi (one)) retaining its 18-seat majority in the 30-member Puducherry Assembly. The DMK has five seats, TVK two, and the Congress and Neyyam Makkal Kazhagam one seat each. The remaining three seats were won by Independent candidates.

Reacting to the performance of his party candidate in the Thattanchavady bypoll, the Chief Minister said that the people have once again reposed their faith in the AINRC. The government would ensure that all promises made to the electors were fulfilled in a time-bound manner. Mr. Anand would strive for the welfare of the people in the constituency, the Chief Minister told presspersons.

After the completion of the counting process, the Chief Minister performed a special puja in his temple built for his spiritual guru Appa Paithiyam Swamigal at Gorimedu. The certificate declaring Mr. Anand as winner was kept near the idol of Appa Paithiyam Swamigal before prayers were offered. Party legislators, former MLAs and functionaries attended the puja along with the Chief Minister and the newly-elected MLA.

Mr. Anand said he would give priority to education and health care needs of the people of Thattanchavady. The victory was the result of the trust that people reposed in the Chief Minister, he said. The MLA also thanked alliance party leaders for campaigning for him in the bypoll.