Narayanasamy-led Cong ministry to be sworn in tomorrow

Puducherry: Congress Legislature Party leader V Narayanasamy will be sworn-in as Puducherry Chief Minister on Monday.

Along with Narayanasamy, five Congress legislators will be sworn-in as ministers.

They include A Namassivayam, Malladi Krishna Rao, Shah Jahan, M Kandasamy and R Kamalakannan (all are former ministers), Assistant Director of Information and Publicity I.Ganapathy said.

Lt Governor Kiran Bedi will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the six-member team of ministers at 'Gandhi Thidal' near the sea shore at 12.10 pm, Ganapathy said.

69-year-old Narayanasamy, who had served as Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office in the second UPA government after serving as MoS Parliamentary Affairs in UPA-I, did not contest the May 16 Assembly polls and will now have to seek election to the legislature in a bypoll.

The Congress leader had called on Bedi at Raj Nivas on May 30 and staked claim to form the ministry. He had also presented to Bedi letters of the Congress legislators and also DMK, expressing support to his leadership.

Raj Nivas sources told PTI that the Lt Governor had invited Narayanasamy to form the government. The Union Home Ministry had since approved Narayanasamy's letter staking claim to form government.

Narayanasamy had also submitted to Bedi the names of the Congress legislators to be his cabinet colleagues.

He was elected leader of the 15-member Congress Legislature party on May 28. The party also has support of the two-member DMK in the 30-member Assembly.

There was stiff competition between Narayanasamy and PCC president A Namassivayam, who was elected for a second consecutive term, for the post of Chief Minister, but the former emerged the unanimous choice at the CLP meeting.

The two were camping in Delhi after the poll results were announced holding talks with the party high command, and there was delay in ministry formation because of the tussle.

Congress had secured 15 of the 21 seats it contested while its ally the DMK two in the assembly polls, ending the five-year rule of the AINRC.