00:00We want to go to the small state or small but important union territory of Puducherry,
00:04a lovely part of the world where the BJP has much more at stake in this part.
00:09Remember, this is a state which, again, the Congress dominated for a long period of time.
00:14But this time, what is the Access My India poll saying?
00:18Of the 30 seats in Puducherry, as of now, 16 to 20, 16 to 20 for the NDA.
00:26So good news ahead of Tamil Nadu coming from Puducherry for the NDA.
00:32The BJP-led alliance, it includes the AINRC and Rangaswami's party was once a Congress leader.
00:39He gets 10 to 12, BJP 4 to 6, AIDMK 1 to 3, LJPK 1 to 3.
00:46And one of them, of course, is the son-in-law, the son of Santiago Martin,
00:52the casino king of, as he's called, of the country, Future Gaming.
00:56And 16 to 20 out of the 30, DMK 5 to 7, Congress 1 to 2.
01:03The TVK, which is also fighting in Puducherry, is 1 to 3.
01:10So if we look at the first signs, Akshita, and I know that Puducherry does suggest,
01:16does not translate into what happens in Tamil Nadu.
01:19In small state of Puducherry, advantage to the NDA.
01:25So the BJP again consolidating itself with the AINRC.
01:30If you look at vote share, there's a clear 10% gap between the NDA and the DMK Congress alliance
01:36there.
01:37So Puducherry, the small union territory, could well see an ace being smashed by N. Rangaswamy,
01:43the tennis-playing chief minister of Puducherry.
01:47Akshita.
01:47Two factors here, Rajdi.
01:49One is that there was no real sense of anti-inccompensory on the ground in Puducherry.
01:54You know, people were happy with the work that Rangaswamy had done, that the AINRC had done.
01:58And so the alliance in all has essentially had a good image in Puducherry.
02:02The second is the fact that the DMK Congress simply couldn't get their act together in Puducherry.
02:07There was non-stop arguments, disagreements on, really.
02:11The seat-sharing, which seats should go well, right up until the very last minute.
02:15So much so that the person who's been the face, really, of, you know, the SPA in Puducherry,
02:21Naraa Sammi, didn't get a ticket either.
02:23So that was a big surprise.
02:24The other element, and since we've been talking so much about TVK in Tamil Nadu,
02:29in Puducherry, you're getting the first sign of how the TVK is doing,
02:32which have focused a whole lot on Puducherry, Rajdi.
02:35And while, you know, in seats, it reflects at 2-4, vote percentage, they're at 17%.
02:40That's not bad for a debut in Puducherry.
02:43At 17%, the TVK has managed some essence of ensuring that they put their stamp out there in Puducherry.
02:50We saw a 90%-plus voter turnout in Puducherry.
02:53And there was a lot of questions about whether, you know, that leads to a wave election.
02:57Clearly not.
02:57The mandate is in favor of the NDA.
03:00But the first indication of how the TVK really performs.
03:03First indication of how TVK performs.
03:05First indication also about how once the BJP establishes a beachhead.
03:09And we've seen that on the western coast with Goa as well.
03:12Once they establish a beachhead, they don't easily give it up.
03:15In Puducherry, they've made the effort to reach out to Rangasamy, made him the chief minister, candidate,
03:22and now have stuck to him, built a party around him.
03:25And he is yet another example, like Himanto Biswasarma, of a former congressman,
03:30who then finds greener pastures in the BJP.
03:34The BJP themselves aren't doing badly.
03:36You know, you look at the breakdown, the BJP is managing about four to six as per this exit poll.
03:40They've contested ten seats.
03:41So the BJP themselves, if you look at all of the southern states and this union territory,
03:46they have the best hopes pinned on Puducherry,
03:48because even individually, besides the alliance, they're not doing too badly, Rajdeep.
03:52Interesting idea.
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