List of chief ministers of Puducherry

Leader of the executive of the Government of Puducherry

Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry

Putuccēri Mutalamaiccar

Emblem of Puducherry

Incumbent
N. Rangasamy

since 7 May 2021

Style|

* The Honourable (formal)
* Mr. Chief Minister (informal)

Type| Head of government
Status| Leader of the Executive
Abbreviation| CMOPY
Member of|

* Puducherry Legislative Assembly
* Puducherry Council of Ministers

Reports to|

* Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
* Puducherry Legislative Assembly

Appointer| Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
Formation| 1 July 1963; 61 years ago (1963-07-01)
First holder| Edouard Goubert
Website| Official website

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.[1]

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 fifteen years in multiple tenures. The former governor of Kerala M. O. H. Farook has the second-longest tenure, and V. Vaithilingam from the Indian National Congress has the third-longest tenure. The inaugural 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.

The current incumbent is N. Rangasamy of the All India N.R. Congress since 7 May 2021.[2]

## List of chief counselors

[edit]

Further information: First Representative Assembly of Pondicherry and Second Representative Assembly of Pondicherry

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).[3] In January 1955, the government of India, by an order, renamed these four French settlements in India as the State of Pondicherry.[4] Both these transfer days are official holidays within the union territory of Puducherry.[5][6]

No.  | Portrait  | Name
(Birth–Death) | Term in office

|
|
|

Assumed office  | Left office  | Time in office
1  |  | Maurice Pakkiriswamy Pillai
(1906–1956) | 17 August 1955  | 13 January 1956  | 149 days
2  |  | Edouard Goubert
(1894–1979) | 17 January 1956  | 24 October 1958  | 2 years, 280 days
–  | Vacant (25 October 1958 – 8 September 1959)
3  |  | V. Venkatasubba Reddiar
(1909–1982) | 9 September 1959  | 30 June 1963  | 3 years, 294 days

## List of chief ministers

[edit]

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.[7] 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.[8] Thus, the first legislative assembly was formed without an election. Elections for the assembly have been held since 1964.

Color key for political parties

* All India N.R. Congress

* Indian National Congress

* Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

* All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Key

* RES Resigned
* † Died in office
* NC Resigned following a no-confidence motion
* § Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term

|

No.  | Portrait  | Name

(Birth–Death)

| Elected constituency  | Term of office[a] | Assembly
(Election) | Ministry  | Appointed by  | Political party[b]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Assumed office  | Left office  | Time in office
1  |  | Edouard Goubert
(1894–1979) | Mannadipet | 1 July 1963  | 10 September 1964  | 1 year, 71 days  | 1st
(1959) | Goubert | S. K. Datta | Indian National Congress |
2  |  | V. Venkatasubba Reddiar
(1909–1982) | Nettapakkam | 11 September 1964  | 9 April 1967[RES] | 2 years, 210 days  | 2nd
(1964) | Reddiar I  | S. L. Silam
3  |  | M. O. H. Farook
(1937–2012) | Karaikal North | 9 April 1967  | 6 March 1968[RES] | 332 days  | Farook I
(2)  |  | V. Venkatasubba Reddiar
(1909–1982) | Nettapakkam | 6 March 1968[§] | 17 September 1968  | 195 days  | Reddiar II
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 18 September 1968  | 16 March 1969  | 179 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
(3)  |  | M. O. H. Farook
(1937–2012) | Kalapet | 17 March 1969[§] | 2 January 1974  | 4 years, 291 days  | 3rd
(1969) | Farook II  | B. D. Jatti | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 3 January 1974  | 5 March 1974  | 61 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
4  |  | S. Ramassamy
(1939–2017) | Karaikal South | 6 March 1974  | 28 March 1974  | 22 days  | 4th
(1974) | Ramassamy I  | Cheddi Lal | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 29 March 1974  | 1 July 1977  | 3 years, 94 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
(4)  |  | S. Ramassamy
(1939–2017) | Karaikal South | 2 July 1977[§] | 12 November 1978  | 1 year, 133 days  | 5th
(1977) | Ramassamy II  | B. T. Kulkarni | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 13 November 1978  | 15 January 1980  | 1 year, 63 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
5  |  | M. D. R. Ramachandran
(1934–2024) | Mannadipet | 16 January 1980  | 23 June 1983[NC] | 3 years, 158 days  | 6th
(1980) | Ramachandran I  | B. T. Kulkarni | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 24 June 1983  | 15 March 1985  | 1 year, 264 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
(3)  |  | M. O. H. Farook
(1937–2012) | Lawspet | 16 March 1985[§] | 7 March 1990  | 4 years, 356 days  | 7th
(1985) | Farook III  | T. P. Tewary  | Indian National Congress |
(5)  |  | M. D. R. Ramachandran
(1934–2024) | Mannadipet | 8 March 1990[§] | 2 March 1991[NC] | 359 days  | 8th
(1990) | Ramachandran II  | Chandrawati | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 3 March 1991  | 3 July 1991  | 122 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
6  |  | V. Vaithilingam
(b. 1950) | Nettapakkam | 4 July 1991  | 25 May 1996  | 4 years, 326 days  | 9th
(1991) | Vaithilingam I  | Harswarup Singh  | Indian National Congress |
7  |  | R. V. Janakiraman
(1941–2019) | Nellithope | 26 May 1996  | 21 March 2000[NC] | 3 years, 300 days  | 10th
(1996) | Janakiraman  | Rajendra Kumari Bajpai | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
8  |  | P. Shanmugam
(1927–2013) | Yanam | 22 March 2000  | 23 May 2001  | 1 year, 219 days  | Shanmugam I  | Rajani Rai | Indian National Congress |
24 May 2001  | 27 October 2001[RES] | 11th
(2001) | Shanmugam II
9  |  | N. Rangasamy
(b. 1950) | Thattanchavady | 27 October 2001  | 12 May 2006  | 6 years, 313 days  | Rangasamy I
13 May 2006  | 4 September 2008[RES] | 12th
(2006) | Rangasamy II  | Madan Mohan Lakhera
(6)  |  | V. Vaithilingam
(b. 1950) | Nettapakkam | 4 September 2008[§] | 15 May 2011  | 2 years, 253 days  | Vaithilingam II  | Govind Singh Gurjar
(9)  |  | N. Rangasamy
(b. 1950) | Kadirkamam | 16 May 2011[§] | 5 June 2016  | 5 years, 20 days  | 13th
(2011) | Rangasamy III  | Iqbal Singh | All India N.R. Congress |
10  |  | V. Narayanasamy
(b. 1947) | Nellithope | 6 June 2016  | 22 February 2021[NC] | 4 years, 261 days  | 14th
(2016) | Narayanasamy | Kiran Bedi | Indian National Congress |
–  |  | Vacant
(President's rule)  | N/A | 23 February 2021  | 6 May 2021  | 72 days  | Dissolved | N/A | –  | N/A |
(9)  |  | N. Rangasamy
(b. 1950) | Thattanchavady | 7 May 2021[§] | Incumbent | 3 years, 349 days  | 15th
(2021) | Rangasamy IV | Tamilisai Soundararajan | All India N.R. Congress |

Timeline

## Statistics

[edit]

List of chief ministers by length of term
No.  | Name  | Party  | Length of term

|
|
|

Longest continuous term  | Total years of chief ministership
1  | N. Rangasamy | AINRC/INC |  | 6 years, 313 days | 15 years, 318 days
2  | M. O. H. Farook | INC/DMK |  | 4 years, 356 days  | 10 years, 249 days
3  | V. Vaithilingam | INC |  | 4 years, 326 days  | 7 years, 214 days
4  | V. Narayanasamy | INC |  | 4 years, 261 days  | 4 years, 261 days
5  | M. D. R. Ramachandran | DMK |  | 3 years, 158 days  | 4 years, 152 days
6  | R. V. Janakiraman | DMK |  | 3 years, 300 days  | 3 years, 300 days
7  | V. Venkatasubba Reddiar | INC |  | 2 years, 210 days  | 3 years, 40 days
8  | S. Ramassamy | AIADMK |  | 1 year, 133 days  | 1 year, 155 days
9  | P. Shanmugam | INC |  | 1 year, 219 days  | 1 year, 219 days
10  | Edouard Goubert | INC |  | 1 year, 71 days  | 1 year, 71 days

List by party
Political parties by total time-span of their member holding CMO (21 April 2025)  No.  | Political party  | Number of chief ministers  | Total days of holding CMO

|
|
|

1  | Indian National Congress | 7  | 10319 days
2  | All India N.R. Congress | 1 | 3292 days
2  | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 3  | 2568 days
4  | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 1  | 520 days

Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Chief Minister's Office

2,500

5,000

7,500

10,000

12,500

15,000

INC

AINRC

DMK

AIADMK

* INC
* AINRC
* DMK
* AIADMK

## See also

[edit]

* History of Puducherry
* Elections in Puducherry
* Puducherry Legislative Assembly
* List of current Indian chief ministers
* List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry
* List of speakers of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
* List of leaders of the opposition in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period.
2. ^ This column only names the chief minister's party. The union territory government he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. Note: although the text talks about Indian union territory governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Puducherry as well.
2. ^ "Rangasamy sworn in Puducherry CM". The Hindu. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 November 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
3. ^ "Indian Affairs Record (Vol. I and II)". Diwan Chand Indian Information Center. 1955.
4. ^ A. Moin Zaidi (1976). "The Encyclopaedia of Indian National Congress". S. Chand Publications. p. 229.
5. ^ Shriman Narayan, K.P.Madhavan Nair (1956). "Report Of The General Secretaries". Indian National Congress.
6. ^ "Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru" (PDF). Jawaharlal Nehru. Oxford University Press. 1961. p. 156.
7. ^ G. C. Malhotra (2004). Cabinet Responsibility to Legislature. Lok Sabha Secretariat. ISBN 9788120004009.
8. ^ Cabinet Responsibility to Legislature. Metropolitan Book Co. Pvt. Ltd. 1964.

## External links

[edit]

* Official Website of the Office of the Chief Minister

* v
* t
* e

Chief ministers of Puducherry

* Edouard Goubert
* V. Venkatasubha Reddiar
* M. O. H. Farook
* S. Ramassamy
* M. D. R. Ramachandran
* V. Vaithilingam
* R. V. Janakiraman
* P. Shanmugam
* N. Rangasamy
* V. Narayanasamy

* v
* t
* e

Current chief ministers of India

| Andhra Pradesh|

Nara Chandrababu Naidu (TDP)

|

Arunachal Pradesh|

Pema Khandu (BJP)

Assam|

Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP)

Bihar|

Nitish Kumar (JD(U))

Chhattisgarh|

Vishnu Deo Sai (BJP)

Delhi|

Rekha Gupta (BJP)

Goa|

Pramod Sawant (BJP)

Gujarat|

Bhupendrabhai Patel (BJP)

Haryana|

Nayab Singh Saini (BJP)

Himachal Pradesh|

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (INC)

Jammu and Kashmir|

Omar Abdullah (JKNC)

| Jharkhand|

Hemant Soren (JMM)

|

Karnataka|

Siddaramaiah (INC)

Kerala|

Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI(M))

Madhya Pradesh|

Mohan Yadav (BJP)

Maharashtra|

Devendra Fadnavis (BJP)

Manipur|

Vacant (President's rule)

Meghalaya|

Conrad Sangma (NPP)

Mizoram|

Lalduhoma (ZPM)

Nagaland|

Neiphiu Rio (NDPP)

Odisha|

Mohan Charan Majhi (BJP)

Puducherry|

N. Rangasamy (AINRC)

| Punjab|

Bhagwant Mann (AAP)

|

Rajasthan|

Bhajan Lal Sharma (BJP)

Sikkim|

Prem Singh Tamang (SKM)

Tamil Nadu|

M. K. Stalin (DMK)

Telangana|

Revanth Reddy (INC)

Tripura|

Manik Saha (BJP)

Uttar Pradesh|

Yogi Adityanath (BJP)

Uttarakhand|

Pushkar Singh Dhami (BJP)

West Bengal|

Mamata Banerjee (AITC)

See also:

* Longest-serving chief ministers
* Female chief ministers
* From the Bharatiya Janata Party
* From the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
* From the Indian National Congress

* v
* t
* e

Union territory of Puducherry

Capital: Puducherry

Districts|

* Puducherry
* Karaikal
* Mahe
* Yanam

Municipalities|

* Karaikal
* Mahé
* Uzhavarkarai
* Puducherry
* Yanam

Languages|

* French
* Tamil
* Telugu
* Malayalam

Education|

* Pondicherry University
* Puducherry Technological University
* JIPMER
* National Institute of Technology, Puducherry

History|

* History of Puducherry

Places of interest|

* Auroville
* Promenade Beach
* Manakula Vinayagar Temple
* Matrimandir
* Sri Aurobindo Ashram
* Sacred Heart Basilica

Transport|

| Rail|

* Puducherry
* Karaikal
* Mahe

|

Air|

* Pondicherry Airport
* Karaikal Airport

Sports|

* Pondicherry Cricket Association
* Indira Gandhi Sports Stadium
* YSR Indoor Stadium

*[b.]: born in
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