VP Sivakolundhu

VP Sivakolundhu is a veteran Puducherry politician with a particularly unusual political trajectory — he served as a Congress MLA and Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly before eventually joining the AINRC.

He was elected to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly from Lawspet in the 2016 elections as a member of the Congress. He was elected as Speaker of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly after V Vaithilingam was elected to Lok Sabha in 2019. He subsequently left Congress and is now contesting from Lawspet on an AINRC ticket in 2026.

He faces a strong challenge from V Saminathan of TVK, a former Puducherry BJP president who holds the distinction of being the longest-serving leader in that position, making this one of the high-stakes contests in the Puducherry region.

Sivakolundhu's candidature gives CM Rangasamy's party a candidate with deep local roots and institutional experience in the Lawspet seat.

Candidate Info: V.P. Sivakolundhu is the All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) candidate contesting from Lawspet (General) Assembly constituency for the 2026 Puducherry Assembly elections. This male candidate is 74 years of age, according to the election affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India.