The chief minister of Puducherry is the chief executive of the Indian union territory of Puducherry. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is a union territory's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, the lieutenant governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The lieutenant governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.
Since 1963, Puducherry has had 10 chief ministers. The longest-serving and current chief minister, N. Rangasamy from the All India N.R. Congress, held the office for over seventeen years in multiple tenures. M. O. H. Farook and V. Vaithilingam from the Indian National Congress have the second- and third-longest tenures, respectively. The first holder Edouard Goubert from the Indian National Congress has the shortest tenure (only 1 year, 71 days). There have been seven instances of President's rule in Puducherry, most recently in 2021, which occurred due to political instability and the inability of the state assembly to function effectively.
The current incumbent is N. Rangasamy of the All India N.R. Congress since 7 May 2021.
List
The French settlements in India were in a transition period between the de facto transfer day (i.e., 1 November 1954) and the de jure transfer day (i.e., 16 August 1962). In January 1955, the government of India, by an order, renamed these four French settlements in India as the State of Pondicherry. Both these transfer days are official holidays within the union territory of Puducherry.
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Chief Counselors of Pondicherry
!rowspan=2|
!rowspan=2|Portrait
!rowspan=2|Name<br/>
!colspan=3|Term in office
|-
!Assumed office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
!1
|
|Maurice Pakkiriswamy Pillai<br/><small>(1906–1956)</small>
|17 August 1955
|13 January 1956
|149 days
|-
!2
|
|Edouard Goubert<br/><small>(1894–1979)</small>
|17 January 1956
|24 October 1958
|2 years, 280 days
|-
!–
|colspan=5|Vacant (25 October 1958 – 8 September 1959)
|-
!3
|100px
|V. Venkatasubba Reddiar<br/><small>(1909–1982)</small>
|9 September 1959
|30 June 1963
|3 years, 294 days
|}
;Enactment of the Government of Union Territories Act
On 10 May 1963, the government of India enacted the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, which came into force on 1 July 1963. It introduced the same pattern of government that prevailed in the rest of the country, but subject to certain limitations. Under Article 239 of the Indian Constitution, the president of India appoints the lieutenant governor of Puducherry with such designation as he may specify to head the administration of the territory. The lieutenant governor appoints the chief minister. The lieutenant governor, on the advice of the chief minister, appoints the council of ministers.
Also, the representative assembly was converted into the legislative assembly of Pondicherry on 1 July 1963 as per Section 54(3) of the Union Territories Act, 1963, and its members were deemed to have been elected to the assembly. Thus, the first legislative assembly was formed without an election. Elections for the assembly have been held since 1964.
;Key
- Resigned
- Dismissed by the Head of State
- Resigned following a no-confidence motion
- Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Chief Ministers of Puducherry
!colspan=12| (1) (1) (3) (7)
|-
!rowspan=2|
!rowspan=2|Portrait
!rowspan=2|Name
<small></small>
!rowspan=2|Elected constituency
!colspan=3|Term of office
!rowspan=2|Assembly<br/>
!rowspan=2|Ministry
!rowspan=2|Appointer
!colspan=2 rowspan=2|Political party
|-
!Assumed office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
!1
|
|Edouard Goubert<br/><small>(1894–1979)</small>
|Mannadipet
|1 July 1963
|10 September 1964
|1 year, 71 days
|1st<br/>
|Goubert
|S. K. Datta
|rowspan=4|Indian National Congress
|rowspan=4
|-
!2
|100px
|V. Venkatasubba Reddiar<br/><small>(1909–1982)</small>
|Nettapakkam
|11 September 1964
|8 April 1967
|2 years, 209 days
|rowspan=3|2nd<br/>
|Reddiar I
|rowspan=3|S. L. Silam
|-
!3
|100px
|M. O. H. Farook<br/><small>(1937–2012)</small>
|Karaikal North
|9 April 1967
|5 March 1968
|331 days
|Farook I
|-
!(2)
|100px
|V. Venkatasubba Reddiar<br/><small>(1909–1982)</small>
|Nettapakkam
|6 March 1968
|18 September 1968
|196 days
|Reddiar II
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|18 September 1968
|16 March 1969
|179 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!(3)
|100px
|M. O. H. Farook<br/><small>(1937–2012)</small>
|Kalapet
|17 March 1969
|3 January 1974
|4 years, 292 days
|3rd<br/>
|Farook II
|B. D. Jatti
|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|3 January 1974
|5 March 1974
|61 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!4
|
|S. Ramassamy<br/><small>(1939–2017)</small>
|Karaikal South
|6 March 1974
|28 March 1974
|22 days
|4th<br/>
|Ramassamy I
|Cheddi Lal
|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|28 March 1974
|1 July 1977
|3 years, 95 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!(4)
|
|S. Ramassamy<br/><small>(1939–2017)</small>
|Karaikal South
|2 July 1977
|12 November 1978
|1 year, 133 days
|5th<br/>
|Ramassamy II
|B. T. Kulkarni
|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|12 November 1978
|15 January 1980
|1 year, 64 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!5
|
|M. D. R. Ramachandran<br/><small>(1934–2024)</small>
|Mannadipet
|16 January 1980
|24 June 1983
|3 years, 159 days
|6th<br/>
|Ramachandran I
|B. T. Kulkarni
|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|24 June 1983
|16 March 1985
|1 year, 265 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!(3)
|100px
|M. O. H. Farook<br/><small>(1937–2012)</small>
|Lawspet
|17 March 1985
|7 March 1990
|4 years, 355 days
|7th<br/>
|Farook III
|T. P. Tewary
|Indian National Congress
|
|-
!(5)
|
|M. D. R. Ramachandran<br/><small>(1934–2024)</small>
|Mannadipet
|8 March 1990
|4 March 1991
|361 days
|8th<br/>
|Ramachandran II
|Chandrawati
|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|4 March 1991
|3 July 1991
|121 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!6
|100px
|V. Vaithilingam<br/><small>( 1950)</small>
|Nettapakkam
|4 July 1991
|26 May 1996
|4 years, 327 days
|9th<br/>
|Vaithilingam I
|Harswarup Singh
|Indian National Congress
|
|-
!7
|100px
|R. V. Janakiraman<br/><small>(1941–2019)</small>
|Nellithope
|27 May 1996
|21 March 2000
|3 years, 299 days
|rowspan=2|10th<br/>
|Janakiraman
|Rajendra Kumari Bajpai
|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|-
!rowspan=2|8
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|P. Shanmugam<br/><small>(1927–2013)</small>
|rowspan=2|Yanam
|22 March 2000
|23 May 2001
|rowspan=2|1 year, 218 days
|Shanmugam I
|rowspan=3|Rajani Rai
|rowspan=5|Indian National Congress
|rowspan=5
|-
|24 May 2001
|26 October 2001
|rowspan=2|11th<br/>
|Shanmugam II
|-
!rowspan=2|9
|rowspan=2|100px
|rowspan=2|N. Rangasamy<br/><small>( 1950)</small>
|rowspan=2|Thattanchavady
|27 October 2001
|17 May 2006
|rowspan=2|6 years, 312 days
|Rangasamy I
|-
|18 May 2006
|3 September 2008
|rowspan=2|12th<br/>
|Rangasamy II
|Madan Mohan Lakhera
|-
!(6)
|100px
|V. Vaithilingam<br/><small>( 1950)</small>
|Nettapakkam
|4 September 2008
|15 May 2011
|2 years, 253 days
|Vaithilingam II
|Govind Singh Gurjar
|-
!(9)
|100px
|N. Rangasamy<br/><small>( 1950)</small>
|Kadirkamam
|16 May 2011
|5 June 2016
|5 years, 20 days
|13th<br/>
|Rangasamy III
|Iqbal Singh
|All India N.R. Congress
|
|-
!10
|100px
|V. Narayanasamy<br/><small>( 1947)</small>
|Nellithope
|6 June 2016
|25 February 2021
|4 years, 264 days
|14th<br/>
|Narayanasamy
|Kiran Bedi
|Indian National Congress
|
|-
!–
|75px
|Vacant<br/>(President's rule)
|N/A
|25 February 2021
|6 May 2021
|70 days
|Dissolved
|N/A
|–
|N/A
|style="background:white;|
|-
!rowspan=2|(9)
|rowspan=2|100px
|rowspan=2|N. Rangasamy<br/><small>( 1950)</small>
|Thattanchavady
|7 May 2021
|12 May 2026
|rowspan=2|
|15th<br/>
|Rangasamy IV
|Tamilisai Soundararajan
|rowspan=2|All India N.R. Congress
|rowspan=2
|-
|Mangalam
|13 May 2026
|Incumbent
|16th<br/>
|Rangasamy V
|K. Kailashnathan
|}
;Timeline
Statistics
;List of chief ministers by length of term
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; text-align:center"
!rowspan=2|
!rowspan=2|Name
!rowspan=2 colspan=2|Party
!colspan=2|Length of term
|-
!Longest continuous term
!Total duration of the chief ministership
|-
!1
|N. Rangasamy
|AINRC/INC
|style="background-color:#50D0DF"|
|6 years, 312 days
|
|-
!2
|M. O. H. Farook
|INC/DMK
|style="background-color:#8C5C7D"|
|4 years, 355 days
|10 years, 248 days
|-
!3
|V. Vaithilingam
|INC
|
|4 years, 327 days
|7 years, 215 days
|-
!4
|V. Narayanasamy
|INC
|
|4 years, 264 days
|4 years, 264 days
|-
!5
|M. D. R. Ramachandran
|DMK
|
|3 years, 159 days
|4 years, 155 days
|-
!6
|R. V. Janakiraman
|DMK
|
|3 years, 299 days
|3 years, 299 days
|-
!7
|V. Venkatasubba Reddiar
|INC
|
|2 years, 209 days
|3 years, 40 days
|-
!8
|S. Ramassamy
|AIADMK
|
|1 year, 133 days
|1 year, 155 days
|-
!9
|P. Shanmugam
|INC
|
|1 year, 218 days
|1 year, 218 days
|-
!10
|Edouard Goubert
|INC
|
|1 year, 71 days
|1 year, 71 days
|}
;List by party
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; text-align:center"
|+Parties by total time-span of their member holding CMO ( )
!
!colspan=2|Political party
!Number of chief ministers
!Total days of holding CMO
|-
!1
|Indian National Congress
|
|7
| days
|-
!2
|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|3
|4763 days
|-
!3
|All India N.R. Congress
|
|1
| days
|-
!4
|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|
|1
|520 days
|}
;Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Chief Minister's Office
See also
- History of Puducherry
- Elections in Puducherry
- Puducherry Legislative Assembly
- Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
- List of current Indian chief ministers
- List of speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
- List of leaders of the opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
Notes
Oath as the state chief minister
The chief minister serves five years in the office. The following is the oath of the Deputy chief minister of state:
Oath of Secrecy
"I, [Name], do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as a Minister for the State of [Name of State] except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister.1. Oath of Office (Padhavi Pramaanam)
"___ engira naan, sattappadi amaikkappatta Indhiya Arasiyalaippinbaal unmaiyaana nambikkaiyum visuvaasamum kondiruppen endrum,
Indhiyavin iraimaayayum orumaipaattaiyum nilaivoruthuven endrum,
___ maanilathin Mudhalmaicharaaga enadhuk kadamaigalai ulloornthathoodum, unmaiyoodum, manasaatchikkup payandhum niraivethuven endrum,
baabharippu (bias) illamal, viruppu-veruppu indri, arasiyalaippirkkum sattathirkkum amaiga, ellaavagaidhamaana makkalukkum needhi vazhanguven endrum,
Kadavul ariya urudhi koorigiren / Uladhaara urudhi koorigiren."
(Note: The last line depends on whether the CM is taking the oath in the name of God or making a solemn affirmation).
2. Oath of Secrecy (Ragasiya Kaappu Pramaanam)
"___ engira naan, ___ maanilathin Mudhalmaicharaaga enadhu gavana thirkku konduvarappadugira, alladhu enadhu theriyavarugira endha oru vishayathaiyum,
appadippatta Mudhalmaicharin kadamaigalai sariyaaga niraivethuvadgarku thevaipadum nerangal thavir,
neradiyagavo alladhu maraimugamagavo endha oru nabarukkum therivikka maatten alladhu velippadutha maatten endrum,
Kadavul ariya urudhi koorigiren / Uladhaara urudhi koorigiren."
References
External links
- Official Website of the Office of the Chief Minister