Puducherry's Narayanasamy government told to face floor test on February 22

The Congress government in Puducherry will have to face a floor test on February 22, newly appointed lieutenant governor (LG) Tamilisai Soundararajan announced on Thursday, saying the ruling party is now in a minority.

The Congress is in a tough spot after the resignation of four party leaders, who can vote in a no-confidence motion. The resignations have brought down the numbers of the CongressDMK alliance to 14 in the assembly, which has an effective strength of 28.

On Wednesday, N Rangasamy, leader of the opposition in Puducherry, along with AIADMK floor leader A Anbazhagan and BJP floor leader V Saminathan, had handed over a petition signed by 14 MLAs to the LG's office demanding a floor test in the assembly.


Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan took oath as the lieutenant governor (LG) of Puducherry on Thursday, making her the fifth woman to hold the post.

Soundararajan has been given additional charge of Puducherry after Kiran Bedi was removed as Puducherry LG on Tuesday. Bedi faced a lot of flak from the ruling Congress for her style of functioning, and her removal came a week after Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy urged President Ram Nath Kovind to recall her.

Puducherry has found itself in the eye of a political storm just as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has started campaigning in the Union Territory. The Congress has lost four MLAs to the BJP in two months.