Puducherry, also known as Pondicherry, is a union territory of India, consisting of four small geographically unconnected districts. It was formed out of four territories of former French India, namely Pondichéry, Karikal (Karaikal), Mahé and Yanaon, excluding Chandannagar (Chandernagore), and it is named after the largest district, Puducherry, which was also the capital of French India. Historically known as Pondicherry, the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 1 October 2006.
Natesan Krishnasamy Rangasamy is an Indian politician who is the Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry. He previously served as last Chief Minister of Pondicherry from 2001 to 2006 and first Chief Minister of Puducherry from 2006 to 2008 as a member of the Indian National Congress and then from 2011 to 2016 as a member of his own party, the All India N.R. Congress. He holds the record of becoming Chief Minister within three months after creating his own party. He also holds concessive record of becoming Chief Minister of Puducherry for fourth time.
Édouard Goubert was mayor and first chief minister of Pondicherry between 1 July 1963 and 11 September 1964. Initially a strongly pro-French leader, he later shifted towards the pro-merger Indian National Congress, which ultimately became the death knell for the sovereignty of France's comptoirs in India. He and Lambert Saravane founded the French India Socialist Party in July 1947.
The Puducherry Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian union territory (UT) of Puducherry, which comprises four districts: Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahé and Yanam. Out of eight union territories of India, only three have legislatures and they are Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir. After delimitation shortly after its formation, the Puducherry legislative assembly has 33 seats, of which 5 are reserved for candidates from scheduled castes and 3 members are nominated by the Government of India. 30 out of 33 Members are elected directly by the people on the basis of universal adult franchise and the remaining three are nominated by the central government. These nominated members enjoy same powers as elected members of the assembly.
The Coup d'état of Yanaon (Yanam) was a tense but ultimately non-lethal political coup at Yanam, India, in 1954. It occurred as India and France held ongoing negotiations regarding the future of French settlements in India. Yanam, along with Pondicherry, Karikal, and Mahé, was one of four small French colonial enclaves remaining in India after its 1947 independence from Britain. Though widely separated along both of India's coasts, the towns were collectively known as Pondicherry [Fr: Pondichéry; mod. India: Puducherry], after the largest of the settlements.
The City of Puducherry on the southeast coast of India does not have a recorded history from antiquity. Puducherry has history recorded only after the advent of the colonial powers such as the Dutch, Portuguese, English and the French. Nearby places such as Arikanmedu, Kakayanthoppe, Villianur, and Bahur, which were annexed by the French East India Company over a period of time and became the Union Territory of Puducherry after Independence, have written histories that predate the colonial era.
The All India N.R. Congress is a regional political party formed by the Chief Minister of Puducherry, N. Rangaswamy in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. He announced the party formation on 7 February 2011 in the party's head office in Pondicherry as a breakaway from the Indian National Congress. Currently it is part of the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP currently the ruling party of India.
Varadarajulu Kailasa Subbiah was an Indian communist politician from Pondicherry. Subbiah was the secretary of the Communist Party of French India. He is regarded as the founder of the trade union movement in the union territory. Subbiah was one of the 'Tamrapatra awardees', awarded the decoration for their role in the Indian freedom struggle.
Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Indian Union Territory of Pondicherry took place on 23 August 1964 to constitute the Second Assembly of Pondicherry. These were the first Legislative Assembly elections after the formation of the new Union Territory. The elections marked the end of the rule of Edouard Goubert in Pondicherry.
After the de facto merger on 1 November 1954 and before the legal integration with the Indian Union on 16 August 1962, general elections were held in 1955 and 1959. So. the first general elections to the Pondicherry Representative Assembly along with 16 municipal councils were held in 1955 from July 18 to 23 for 39 constituencies to constitute First Pondicherry Representative Assembly. The election were held on the basis of adult franchise under the State of Pondicherry Order, 1955 which prescribed the rules and regulations for the conduct of elections, more or less on the pattern adopted in the Indian Union. The elections were conducted under supervision of the Election commissioner Mr. Sukumar Sen and heavy polling was reported during the elections.
After the de facto merger on 1 November 1954 and before the legal integration with the Indian Union on 16 August 1962, second general elections were held in August 1959 to constitute Second Pondicherry Representative Assembly.
After the merger of French settlements into an Indian union, a new assembly, named the Pondicherry Representative Assembly, was created by the government of India. After the "de facto transfer day" of 1 October 1954, before 16 August 1962 also referred to as "de-jure transfer day". During this transition period, general elections to the representative assembly were held in 1955 and 1959. After the de-jure transfer day, legal integration of French settlements into the Indian Union was complete. However, this assembly, like its predecessor, was advisory in its role, which led to frequent contention between the popular government and the chief commissioner.
The Pondicherry Representative Assembly was converted into the Legislative Assembly on 1 July 1963 as per Section 54(3) of The Union Territories Act, 1963. All the 39 members who were elected by 1959 were deemed to have been elected to the First Assembly of PondicherryPremière Assemblée de Pondichéry.
The Second Representative Assembly of PondicherryDeuxième Assemblée Représentative de Pondichéry succeeded the First Representative Assembly of Pondicherry and was constituted after the victory of Indian National Congress (INC) and its ally in the 1959 assembly election held between 11 and 14 August 1959.
After the de facto merger on 1 November 1954 and before the legal integration with the Indian Union on 16 August 1962, general elections were held in 1955 and 1959. In January 1955, The Indian union government renamed the French settlements in India as State of Pondicherry by passing an order. The previous assembly that was elected during French rule was dissolved on 13 June 1955 and the first general elections to the Pondicherry Representative Assembly were held in next month from 18 to 23 July for 39 constituencies. The election were held on the basis of adult franchise under the State of Pondicherry Order, 1955 which prescribed the rules and regulations for the conduct of elections, more or less on the pattern adopted in the Indian Union.
Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Indian Union Territory of Pondicherry took place in May 2006 to constitute the Twelfth Assembly of Pondicherry. The UPA alliance comprising Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Pattali Makkal Katchi and Communist Party of India has won and N. Rangasamy of Congress got elected as chief minister.
Moti K. Kripalani, ICS, was an Indian civil servant who went to serve as Chief commissioner of Ajmer and Pondicherry.
