Rahul Gandhi urged Puducherry voters to award Congress a huge mandate, promising statehood and a government run by locals. He contrasted Congress’s ‘love and unity’ with BJP’s alleged ‘hatred’ and highlighted key manifesto promises.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged the voters of Puducherry to award the party a huge mandate in the assembly polls, assuring development of the Union Territory, including statehood. In a self-recorded video on X, the Congress leader urged the voters to “vote for a Puducherry run by its own people, your vote is your power.” People of Puducherry, your vote is your power. Use it to take back your government. Use it to make your voice heard. Vote for a Puducherry run by its own people. Vote Congress. pic.twitter.com/RbyhLlcmtT — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 8, 2026
‘An Ideological Battle’
Describing the assembly polls as “an ideological battle,” Gandhi accused the BJP of spreading “violence, hatred and anger,” while stating that the Congress spreads “love, affection and unity.” “The Indian Constitution guarantees representation to all its people. And one of the unfortunate facts about Pondicherry is that you’re not given the representation and the level of representation that you should be given. You’re run by the Lieutenant Governor, who essentially is a king, and you’re run from Delhi. We don’t want you to be run from Delhi. We want Puducherry to be run from Puducherry by the people of Puducherry,” he said. “We are committed to statehood for Puducherry and we are also going to do panchayat elections as soon as possible, within six months of getting elected. This is an ideological battle. It is a battle between the division, the hatred, the venom that the RSS and the BJP spread. On one side you have the hatred, the violence and the anger being spread by the BJP. On the other side you have the love, affection, unity that the Congress alliance always focuses on spreading,” he added.
Key Manifesto Promises
The Congress leader further reflected on the key promises made by the party in its election manifesto for the Puducherry polls, including free bus travel for women and better health insurance schemes. “Please wholeheartedly support the Congress party in Puducherry. As you must have seen in our manifesto, we have some very powerful ideas for the future of Pondicherry. We are going to make bus travel across Pondicherry free for all the women of Puducherry. We are going to give you a brand-new health insurance scheme that is going to protect you from any medical eventuality. You’re going to have ₹20 lakh health insurance per family guaranteed by the Government of Pondicherry,” he said. “Please vote for the Congress party, give us an overwhelming majority in the Vidhan Sabha so we can start working for the people of Puducherry,” the Congress leader urged.
Polling Dates and Key Contestants
Polling in Puducherry is scheduled to be held on April 9, while the counting of votes will take place on May 4. In Puducherry, the contest involves the ruling NDA, which includes NR Congress and BJP and the Congress-DMK alliance. Actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is seeking to make it triangular. (ANI)
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