NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
Former Public Works Department minister N Rengaswamy of the Congress was sworn in on Saturday as the fifteenth chief minister of the Union territory of Pondicherry.
Lieutenant Governor Dr Rajini Rai administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rengaswamy at a simple function at the Pondicherry Raj Niwas.
With President K R Narayanan giving the 51-year-old politician 30 days to prove his majority, Rengaswamy will be under pressure to form his Cabinet early on.
But when asked about this, he merely said: "You will know about it when I expand my Cabinet."
The Congress-led combine enjoys a comfortable majority in the 30-member assembly after the Puducherry Makkal Congress, with four legislators, crossed over from the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led National Democratic Alliance.
The Congress is now awaiting word from its electoral allies, the Tamil Maanila Congress and the All-India Anna DMK, who had supported the earlier coalition government headed by P Shanmugam.
Too many allies in government could, however, spell trouble for Rengaswamy. The PMC needs to be accommodated and its leader, P Kannan, is expecting the home or the PWD portfolio, both of which he has held in two earlier stints as minister. Then there are a number of factions in the Congress itself that need to be accommodated. And as a Union territory with just 30 legislators, Pondy can have just six ministers.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
