His first election was the contest at Thattanchavady constituency in 1990, he lost against V. Pethaperumal JD got 9,503 votes and N. Rangasamy got 8,521 votes. He won the 1991 assembly election with an overwhelming majority and was appointed as Minister for Agriculture and Co-operation. He was again elected from the same constituency in 1996. During 2000, he had adorned the office of the Minister for Tourism, Education, Public Works, Civil Aviation and Art & Culture. In the 2001 Assembly Election, he won from the Thattanchavady constituency and assumed office as Minister for Public Works, Agriculture and Forest. In the same year, he assumed office of the Chief Minister of Puducherry on 27 October.