V Narayanasamy stakes claim to form government

Puducherry: Senior Congress leader V. Narayanasamy, who was on Saturday elected as leader of the Congress Legislature Party, formally staked his claim on Monday to form the next government in this tiny union territory.

Mr Narayanasamy, along with Puducherry PCC chief A Namasivayam and DMK MLAs, met Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and submitted the letter from the Congress stating he has been elected as the leader of the Legislature Party.

The Congress, which won 15 seats on its own, has the support of 2 DMK MLAs and the DMK has also given a letter offering support to the Congress Government in Puducherry.

Since Puducherry is a Union Territory, the Lt. Governor will send the letter submitted by Mr Narayanasamy to the Union Home Ministry, which would in turn send it to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent. Once the President gives his nod, the Lt Governor would formally invite Mr Narayanasamy to form the government.

Mr Narayanasamy had on Saturday pipped Mr Namasivayam to emerge as the unanimous leader of the Congress Legislature Party. After meeting the Lt Governor, the two leaders left for New Delhi to hold consultations with the party High Command on the ministry formation. They are also likely to hold consultations with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi.

The two leaders will discuss the composition of the cabinet and the names to be included. The new government is likely to be sworn in by the end of this week.