The Mangalam Assembly Constituency in Puducherry has emerged as a noteworthy battleground in the Union Territory. Located in the Puducherry district, Mangalam is characterised by a mix of urban and peri-urban voters. Over the years, Mangalam has seen spirited electoral contests with both regional and national parties engaging voters on development, employment and civic governance. It is constituency number 04 of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly. The constituency is a general seat and it is not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Mangalam Assembly Election: Key Candidates
The key candidates for the Mangalam seat are All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) leader N Rangasamy, DMK's SS Rangan, and Congess leader K Ragubady. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katch (VCK), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), AIAMK, DMK, and Aam Admi Party (AAP) are the main parties in the Union Territory.
Mangalam Constituency Demographic Profile
As per data from the Election Commission, there were 38,007 voters in the Mangalam constituency during the 2021 Assembly Elections. Out of this, 18,122 were male and 19,875 were female voters. Ten voters belonged to the third gender. 581 postal votes were cast in the constituency. The number of service voters in Mangalam in 2021 was Nine (All men).
In 2016, the total number of voters in the Mangalam constituency was 34,831. Out of this, 16,759 voters were male, 18,064 were female and eight belonged to a third gender. There were 306 valid postal votes in the constituency. The number of service voters in Mangalam in 2016 was 12 (9 men and 3 women).
Mangalam Constituency 2021 and 2016 Winners (Candidates and Parties)
In the 2021 Puducherry Assembly Elections, All India N.r. Congress (AINRC) candidate Djeacoumar C won the Mangalam seat with a margin of 2,751 votes (8.34%). He polled 16,972 votes with a vote share of 50.89%. He defeated DMK candidate Sun Kumaravel, who got 14,221 votes (42.64%). NTK candidate B Bharathkalai stood third with 838 votes (2.51%).
In the 2016 Puducherry Assembly Elections, AINRC candidate SV Sugumaran won the Mangalam seat with a margin of 5,563 votes (17.78%). He polled 13,955 votes with a vote share of 44.61%. DMK candidate S Kumaravel got 8,392 votes (26.83%) and was the runner-up. AIADMK candidate K Natarajan stood third with 7,124 votes (22.77%).
