| 1st Representative Assembly of Pondicherry | |
| Body: | Pondicherry Representative Assembly |
| Election: | 1955 Pondicherry Representative Assembly election |
| Before: | 2nd Representative Assembly of French India |
| After: | 2nd Pondicherry Representative Assembly |
| Government: | Indian National Congress |
| Opposition: | People's Front |
| Membership1: | 39 |
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.[1] 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 (Representation of the People French: Représentation du peuple) Order, 1955 which prescribed the rules and regulations for the conduct of elections, more or less on the pattern adopted in the Indian Union.[2] [3]
| Party Name | Members | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | |||
| People's Front | 12 | ||
| 5 |
| S. No | Name | Constituency | Commune | Region | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annousamy | Ariankuppam | Ariancoupom | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 2 | Arul Raj | Muthialpet | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 3 | Arunachalam | Darbaranyeswarar Koil | Tirnoular | Karikal | Congress |
| 4 | Asappu Bairavasamy | Oulgaret Town | Oulgaret | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 5 | Barathidasan | Cassicade | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 6 | C. E. Barathan | Mahe Town | Mahe | Mahe | Congress |
| 7 | Chandrasekhara Chettiar | Archivak–Tavalacoupom | Ariancoupom | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 8 | D.Rathinasabapathy Pillai | Néravy Commune | Néravy | Karikal | Congress |
| 9 | Édouard Goubert | Bahour | Bahour | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 10 | Evariste Dessame | Karikal South | Karikal | Karikal | P.F. |
| 11 | Govindaraju | Nellitope Town | Modéliarpeth | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 12 | Joseph Latour | Ouppalaom | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 13 | K. Sheikh Dawood Maricar | Karikal Town North | Karikal | Karikal | Congress |
| 14 | K.S.V. Prasadarao Naidu | Yanam | Yanaon | Yanam | Congress |
| 15 | Louis Savarih | Villenour Town | Villenour | Pondicherry | Ind. |
| 16 | M.M.Hussein | Fifth Bussy Street | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 17 | Mohamed Yusoof | Karikal Central | Karikal | Karikal | Ind. |
| 18 | Padmanabhan | Palloor | Mahé | Mahe | Ind. |
| 19 | Murugaswamy Clemanso | Couroussou Coupom | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 20 | N. Sethuraman Chettiar | Rajbhavan | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | Ind. |
| 21 | N. Ranganathan | Saram and Lawspet | Oulgaret | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 22 | Pakkir Mohammed | Oussoudou | Villenour | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 23 | Shanmugam | Nedungadu | Neduncadou | Karikal | P.F. |
| 24 | Ramalingam | Calapet | Oulgaret | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 25 | R.L. Purushottam Reddiar | Kuruvinattam-Kariambuttur | Bahour | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 26 | S. Dakshinamoorthy Mudaliar | Thirumalarayanpattinam South | Grand Aldée | Karikal | Congress |
| 27 | Thandapani Kounder | Mannadipet Town | Tiroubouvané | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 28 | Thiagaraja Naicker | Embaralam-Kalamandapam | Nettapacom | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 29 | Thirukamu Reddi | Sellipet-Souttoukeny | Tiroubouvané | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 30 | T. Srinivasa Pillai | Thirumeni Alagar | Cotchéry | Karikal | Congress |
| 31 | U. Rangaswamy Pillai | Thirumalayapattinam North | Grand Aldée | Karikal | Congress |
| 32 | Venkatasubba Reddiar | Nettapakkam Town | Nettapacom | Pondicherry | Congress |
| 33 | V.N.Purushottaman | Pandakkal | Mahe | Mahe | Ind. |
| 34 | V.Narayanaswamy | Reddiarpalayam Town | Oulgaret | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 35 | V.Ramalingam Pillai | Badrakaliamman Kovil | Tirnoular | Karikal | Congress |
| 36 | V.Ramaswamy Pillai | Kottuchery-Mathakovil | Cotchéry | Karikal | Congress |
| 37 | V. Subbiah | Murugapakkam | Modéliarpeth | Pondicherry | P.F. |
| 38 | Y.Jagannadha Rao | Yanam | Yanaon | Yanam | Congress |
| 39 | M. Pakkiriswamy Pillai | Karikovil Pathan | Karikal | Congress |
After death of Pakkirisamy a Council of ministers was formed under leadership of Edouard Goubert. Lt Governor during that time was Kewal Singh. The speaker of assembly was initially A. S. Gangeyan and was replaced by Kamichetty Parasuram.[10]
| Minister | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|
| Édouard Goubert | N.A. | |
| Chandrasekhara Chettiar | N.A. | |
| C. E. Barathan | N.A. | |
| Mohammad Yussoof | N.A. | |
| S. Dakshinamoorthy Mudaliar | N.A. | |
| Thiagaraja Naicker | N.A. |
Later Shanmugam related Barathan in the council of ministers (also referred as advisory council to the commissioner) and the composition was as follows:[11]
| Minister | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|
| Édouard Goubert | Public Works, Industries and Labour | |
| Chandrasekhara Chettiar | Port, Fisheries, Co-operation, Electricity | |
| Shanumugam | Agriculture, Rural Development etc. | |
| Mohammad Yussoof | Revenue, Veterinary & Information | |
| S. Dakshinamoorthy Mudaliar | N.A. | |
| Thiagaraja Naicker | Local Administration, Transport & Information |
Untimely death of the chief counsellor Pakkirisamy Pillai in January 1956 started a saga of infighting among the members of Congress Party.
First instance of serious infighting arouse during April 1956 which continued for four months and ended after election of Kamisetty Parasuram as the new speaker of the assembly. Congress assembly legislative party was divided about the successor of Pakkirisamy Pillai as chief counsellor (a post equivalent of chief minister in Indian state assemblies). The major faction was headed Goubert and the minor faction was led by Purushothama Reddiar who had four members supporting his cause.
On 20 April 1956 Goubert was elected unanimously when the Puroshathama Reddiar's faction abstained from that meeting. This issue became a scandal that attracted the attention of then Indian prime minister Nehru and Madras chief minister Kamaraj. Nehru has mentioned about it in his works. After Late Pakkirisamy's seat from Karaikal was vacant, the strength of Goubert's group got reduced from 18 to 19. The Congress party position in the Assembly was as follows: Congress-18, People's Front-15, Congress dissidents led by Reddiar's faction-5. Thus, without support of Reddiar's faction the Goubert's government could not survive as it falls below the halfway mark of 20 in a house of 39.[8]
On 23 April Purushothama Reddiar resigned from Congress party. He along with four other dissidents joined the opposition. After he left the assembly by declaring sine die along with his dissidents, the deputy speaker Kamichetty Parasuram was asked to act as speaker and Purushothama Reddiar got removed from speaker post unanimously in an unceremonious way.[9]
The speaker election was necessitated as Puroshottama Reddiar was about to retire as speaker as he along with four dissidents joined the opposition. In April, the dissident group moved away from Congress and voted along People's Front (i.e. the opposition party). Kamisetty Parasuram got elected with support of all the 26 members of the Congress party.[9]
In another instance, the rivalry between two congress factions peaked in August 1958 and this time it was much severe. The former faction is headed by E. Goubert, the leader of the house and Rangaswami Pillai, leader of the dissident group. The dissidents had a strength of 10 members. This rift got deepened when the dissidents joined the Communist-backed People's Front to elect the Assembly's office bearers (i.e. ministers).Then president of INC, U. N. Dhebar tried to broker peace between the two rival groups in Delhi on 31 August 1958. The main bone of contention between the two factions was over the formation of Council of six ministers. The Congress president had suggested Rangaswami and another dissident in his group, Arul Raj that the disciplinary action taken against them shall be withdrawn, provided some compromise is brought between the two faction to bring back unity. Then chief minister of Madras, K. Kamaraj was suggested to intervene to sort out this issue.[12] But the deadlock remained leading to the intervention of the commissioner.
The government led by Congress was not stable as the ruling party was ridden with personal strifes and factions. Finally, the Government of India had to intervene finally by dissolving the Assembly following the instability caused by the change of party affiliation of members. Then, the Chief Commissioner took over the administration in October 1958. Later, after nine months, second general elections were held to the Pondicherry Representative Assembly in 1959.[13]