New Delhi: On a day when several states have seen big political upheavals, the union territory of Puducherry has returned chief minister N. Rangasamy – and his party the All India NR Congress, part of the National Democratic Alliance – to power. The NDA is heading to a victory in 16 of the UT’s 30 seats, thus crossing the majority mark.Of the NDA partners, the AINRC is winning 10 seats, the BJP 4, the AIADMK 1, and new entrant Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi (LJK) also 1. In the 2021 polls too, the NDA had won 16 seatsThe Congress-DMK alliance is winning 6 seats, down from 9 in the last elections. Superstar Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which has swept the Tamil Nadu elections, has also won 2 seats in Puducherry.This will be 75-year-old N. Rangasamy’s fifth term as chief minister, if he is sworn in again – which is likely, since his was the face put forward by the NDA. He served as a Congress chief minister twice until he quit the party in 2011 to form the AINRC, and in 2021 he aligned with the NDA. Reports say that Rangasamy’s ties with the BJP have been strained – according to a report in Frontline, he aligned with the NDA in 2021 less out of choice and more because of the pressure he was facing from central agencies.Rangasamy has the image of being a devout Hindu leader who visits the local temple regularly – and that has meant that the BJP’s Hindutva plank has not been able to displace his position or make significant inroads in opposition to him. He is also a devotee of the deceased godman Appa Paithiyam Swami.The LJK – and Santiago Martin – factorOne of the members of the NDA in this election – one that has also won a seat – is the LJK headed by Jose Charles Martin, son of ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin. The party was formed only a few months ago, though Martin Jr has reportedly been trying to gain a political foothold in Puducherry over the last year. His philanthropic and charity work – where he seemed happy to use the vast resources at his disposal for road projects and infrastructure development – caught eyeballs. His entry into the fray brought the already burning question of the role of money on campaign trail front and centre.Charles has won from Kamaraj Nagar constituency.According to the Frontline, Rangasamy was sceptical of the NDA’s tie-up with the LJK because of the Martin family’s business interests and their wealth, but the BJP was keen to push the alliance through.While Santiago Martin has had a more financial political role for some time now – his firm Future Gaming and Hotel Services purchased Rs 1,368 crore worth of electoral bonds between 2019 and 2024 and distributed them to the DMK, BJP and TMC – three members of his family have also joined active politics now, raising questions about the oft-raided businessman’s plans.In addition to Charles in Puducherry, Santiago’s wife Leema Rose Martin contested on an AIADMK ticket in Tamil Nadu’s Lalgudi seat, which she is set to win. She was also deemed the richest candidate in this election in Tamil Nadu, with declared net assets at Rs 1,049.5 crore.Santiago’s son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, once deemed to be his heir and chosen by Santiago over Charles but now out of favour, has won the Villivakkam seat in Chennai, Tamil Nadu as a TVK candidate. While Arjuna and Santiago are said to be on the outs, there has been speculation about whether an election win would mean the once-favoured son-in-law would return to Santiago’s inner circle.