Pondicherry: The Congress-led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) has recorded an impressive victory in the Pondicherry civic polls.

The elections were held in three phases between June 24 and July 1, covering Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions.

The ruling Congress annexed the chairmen posts in Oulgaret, Mahe and Yanam municipalities, while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a constituent of the DPA, has captured the Pondicherry municipality chairman post.

The Congress candidates, Ramesh Parambath and Gidla Chandra Rao are the new chairmen of the Mahe and the Yanam councils respectively.

The party nominee N.S.J. Jayabal has come out successful in the elections to the chairman's post of the Oulgaret municipality, defeating his immediate rival and former Health Minister V. Pethaperumal (Independent) by a margin of 27,883 votes.

The DMK candidate B. Sridevi annexed the chairperson's post of the Pondicherry Municipality. She defeated the AIADMK candidate S. Tamilselvi by a margin of 19,955 votes.

The final results of the 42 councillor wards in Pondicherry are the Congress (9) the DMK (12) and the CPI (1). While independents have won 11 wards, the PMC was successful in 5 and the AIADMK in four.

Of the 37 wards in the Oulgaret municipal council, Congress bagged 15 wards (including the four elected unopposed), the DMK captured six and the CPI four. In the remaining 12 wards, the PMK and the AIADMK annexed one seat each, while the PMC was successful in two and independents in eight wards.

The Congress has done well in Mahe and Yanam also, annexing chairmen's posts in the two municipalities. Though the outcome of the elections is a cause of jubilation for the DPA constituents, the result in the election to the Karaikal municipal chairperson post came as a virtual shock to the DPA as the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam candidate edged out the DMK.

Of the 18 municipal councillor wards, the Congress annexed seven and the DMK five. The remaining six seats were bagged by the DMDK, the PMC and Independents.

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