N Rangasamy takes oath as Puducherry Chief Minister

Puducherry: Founder leader of All India NR Congress (AINRC) N. Rangasamy on Friday was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry.

Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Tamilasai Soundararajan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rangasamy.

He took the oath of office in Tamil, and assumed the post of Chief Minister.

Rangasamy has become the Chief Minister for the fourth time -- twice as Congress leader, and twice as AINRC leader.

Rangasamy became the Chief minister for the first time in 2001 as a Congress leader and in 2006, he again won on a Congress ticket and went on to become the Chief minister. However, differences of opinion with his cabinet colleagues in 2008 led to his resignation from the government and the party.

Rangasamy was the leader of the NDA in Puducherry and his party AINRC won 10 of the 16 seats it contested while the BJP won 6 of the nine seats it contested. A record 6 independent candidates got elected in this election

Ranagasamy floated All India NR Congress two months before the 2011 elections, aligned with the AIADMK and won the elections. However, he formed the government with the support of independent candidates keeping his ally AIADMK out of power.