Puducherry: Founder of the Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) party Jose Charles Martin won by a margin of 10,205 votes in Kamaraj Nagar constituency of Puducherry on Monday.
The son of lottery king Santiago Martin, Jose Martin was contesting his first election from Kamaraj Nagar. He was in a straight fight with P.K. Devadoss from the Congress and R. Suman from the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and campaigned on the plank of transforming Puducherry into a developed urban hub with long-term governance vision up to 2050.
Launched in December 2025, the LJK contested two seats in the 2026 Puducherry Assembly elections as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). These are Kamaraj Nagar, where Jose Charles Martin is the candidate, and Nellithope, where the party fielded A. Jayakumar.
LJK candidate in Nellithope A. Jayakumar finished fourth with 3,311 votes against V Cartigueyane from DMK, a prominent face from the Opposition Secular Progressive Alliance, who won the seat by 850 votes. S. Vigneshwaran from TVK stood third, securing 4,763 votes in the three-cornered fight in the constituency.
The party had positioned itself as a fresh alternative, standing against corruption and emphasising welfare and development of Puducherry.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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