N Rangasamy finally resigned as Puducherry Chief Minister on Thursday following months of squabble within the party and the Cabinet. V Vaithilingam, former chief minister and Minister for Industries and Power in the present Cabinet, has been chosen as his successor by the Congress Legislative Party on Thursday. Though A Namasivayam will be the only new face in Vaithilingam’s Cabinet, a reshuffle of portfolios is on the cards, said sources.

After the CLP meeting, held under AICC central observer K B Krishnamurthy, Congress MLAs handed over the letter announcing Vaithilingam as their new leader to Lt Governor Govind Singh Gurjjar. Alliance partners DMK and PMK have also given fresh letters of support to the Congress Government.

When Rangasamy handed over his resignation letter to the Lt Governor on Thursday morning, it brought the curtains down on a long drawn political drama. Rangasamy, a politician with an impeccable image, was up against his entire Cabinet, and even against some power centres in Delhi. Though none has raised any corruption charges yet, critics highlighted the lopsided developmental works, with a lion’s share allocated to the Chief Minister’s constituency Thattanchavady.

The difference of opinion became serious, with protests by opposing factions often leading to destruction of public property and administrative mechanism coming to a halt. Insiders say that even this year’s Budget had been prepared the night before it was to be presented in the Assembly. Not a single Cabinet meeting was convened after that as the ministers could not resolve their differences.

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