Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Overview of the procedure of elections in the Indian union territory of Puducherry}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2024}} [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] has a [[parliamentary system]] as defined by its [[Constitution of India|constitution]], with power distributed between the [[Government of Puducherry|union territory government]] and the [[List of districts of Puducherry|districts]]. The [[Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry]] is the ceremonial head of the union territory. However, it is the [[Chief Minister of Puducherry]] who is the leader of the party or political alliance having a majority in the union territory elections to the [[Puducherry Legislative Assembly]]. The chief minister is the leader of the executive branch of the government of Puducherry. The chief minister is the chief adviser to the lieutenant governor of Puducherry and the head of the union territory council of ministers. Elections in Puducherry are conducted every five years to elect [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|members]] to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly and [[Member of Parliament (India)|members of parliament]] to the [[Lok Sabha]]. There are [[List of constituencies of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly|30 assembly constituencies]] and [[List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha#Puducherry (1)|1 Lok Sabha constituency]]. The union territory has conducted 14 assembly elections and 14 Lok Sabha elections since independence. ==Elections== The [[Election Commission of India]] (ECI) is responsible for monitoring and administering the elections for the [[Rajya Sabha]] (Council of States) and [[Lok Sabha]] (House of the People) of the [[Parliament of India|Parliament]] and the [[Puducherry Legislative Assembly]]. The ECI appoints the chief electoral officer of Puducherry, an [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] officer who oversees state-level election matters. The [[Puducherry Election Commission]] is the state body of Puducherry that is enacted under the provisions of the constitution and is responsible for monitoring and administering the elections for local government in Puducherry. This body is responsible for ensuring elections are free and fair, without any bias. Elections ensure the conduct of members pre-elections, during elections, and post-elections is as per statutory legislation. All election-related disputes are handled by the election commission. The [[Madras High Court]] has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the election commission has the residuary powers under the constitution to act as appropriate. ==Types of elections== Elections in Puducherry include elections for: *[[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Members of Parliament]] in the [[Rajya Sabha]] (Upper House) *[[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Members of Parliament]] in the [[Lok Sabha]] (Lower House) *[[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Members]] of the [[Puducherry Legislative Assembly]] *Members of local governance bodies ([[List of municipalities in Puducherry|municipal bodies]] and [[Panchayati raj|panchayats]]) *A bye-election is held when the seat-holder of a particular constituency dies, resigns, or is disqualified. ==Rajya Sabha elections== [[Member of Parliament (India)|Members of parliament]] in the [[Rajya Sabha]] (Council of States) from [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] are not directly elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of the union territory but by the [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|members]] of the [[Puducherry Legislative Assembly]]. Candidates who win the Rajya Sabha elections are called "[[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Members of Parliament]]" and hold their seats for six years. The house meets in the Rajya Sabha Chamber of the [[Sansad Bhavan]] in [[New Delhi]] on matters relating to the creation of new laws or removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of India. Elections take place to elect one member from Puducherry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rajya-sabha-election-2017-here-is-how-members-are-elected-to-upper-house-1734558|title=Rajya Sabha Election 2017: Here Is How Members Are Elected To Upper House|website=NDTV.com|access-date=5 April 2021}}</ref> ==Lok Sabha elections== [[Member of Parliament (India)|Members of parliament]] in the [[Lok Sabha]] (House of the People) from [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] are directly elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of the union territory from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of Puducherry can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the Lok Sabha elections are called "[[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Members of Parliament]]" and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the [[president of India]] on the advice of the [[Union Council of Ministers|council of ministers]]. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chamber of the [[Sansad Bhavan]] in [[New Delhi]] on matters relating to the creation of new laws or removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of India. Elections take place once every five years to elect one member from Puducherry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eci.gov.in/elections/term-of-houses/|title=Terms of the Houses|publisher=Election Commission of India|access-date=5 April 2021}}</ref> ===History of Lok Sabha elections=== {|class="toccolours" style="width:75em" !Colour key for parties |- |{{div col|colwidth=23em}} {{legend|{{party color|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}|[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|All India N.R. Congress}}|[[All India N.R. Congress]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}|[[Indian National Congress]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress (Indira)}}|[[Indian National Congress (Indira)]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Pattali Makkal Katchi}}|[[Pattali Makkal Katchi]]|outline=#000000}} {{div col end}} |} {|class="wikitable" style="width:100%; text-align:center" !colspan=8|'''[[Lok Sabha|LOK SABHA]] ELECTIONS''' |- !Election !Lok Sabha !Total Seat !colspan=2|Political Party !Percentage of Votes |- |1967 |[[4th Lok Sabha|4th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |rowspan=2 {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |39.83% |- |1971 |[[5th Lok Sabha|5th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |66.27% |- |1977 |[[6th Lok Sabha|6th]] |1 |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |53.32% |- |1980 |[[7th Lok Sabha|7th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress (Indira)]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress (Indira)}} |66.45% |- |1984 |[[8th Lok Sabha|8th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |rowspan=4 {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |58.86% |- |1989 |[[9th Lok Sabha|9th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |50.47% |- |1991 |[[10th Lok Sabha|10th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |53.07% |- |1996 |[[11th Lok Sabha|11th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |39.97% |- |1998 |[[12th Lok Sabha|12th]] |1 |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |41.11% |- |1999 |[[13th Lok Sabha|13th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |37.17% |- |2004 |[[14th Lok Sabha|14th]] |1 |[[Pattali Makkal Katchi]] |{{party color cell|Pattali Makkal Katchi}} |49.95% |- |[[2009 Indian general election in Puducherry|2009]] |[[15th Lok Sabha|15th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |49.41% |- |2014 |[[16th Lok Sabha|16th]] |1 |[[All India N.R. Congress]] |{{party color cell|All India N.R. Congress}} |35.64% |- |[[2019 Indian general election in Puducherry|2019]] |[[17th Lok Sabha|17th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |rowspan=2 {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |57.16% |- |[[2024 Indian general election in Puducherry|2024]] |[[18th Lok Sabha|18th]] |1 |[[Indian National Congress]] |52.73% |} ==Legislative Assembly elections== [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|Members]] of the [[Puducherry Legislative Assembly]] are directly elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of the state from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the legislative assembly elections are called "Members of the Legislative Assembly" and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the [[Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry|lieutenant governor of Puducherry]] on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Assembly Chamber of the Chief Secretariat in [[Pondicherry|Puducherry]] on matters relating to the creation of new laws or removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of Tamil Nadu. Elections take place once every five years to elect 30 members to the legislative assembly. The leader of the majority party or alliance takes oath as [[Chief Minister of Puducherry|chief minister of Puducherry]]. ===History of Legislative Assembly elections=== {|class="toccolours" style="width:75em" !Colour key for parties |- |{{div col|colwidth=23em}} {{legend|{{party color|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}|[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|All India N.R. Congress}}|[[All India N.R. Congress]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Communist Party of India}}|[[Communist Party of India]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Independent politician}}|[[Independent politician|Independent]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}|[[Indian National Congress]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress (Indira)}}|[[Indian National Congress (Indira)]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress (Organisation)}}|[[Indian National Congress (Organisation)]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Janata Dal}}|[[Janata Dal]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Janata Party}}|[[Janata Party]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|#FF948E|People's Front|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Puducherry Makkal Congress}}|[[Puducherry Makkal Congress]]|outline=#000000}} {{legend|{{party color|Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar)}}|[[Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar)]]|outline=#000000}} {{div col end}} |} {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=14|'''[[Puducherry Legislative Assembly|LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY]] ELECTIONS''' |- !rowspan=2|Assembly<br/>{{small|(Election)}} !rowspan=2|Total Seats !colspan=4|First !colspan=4|Second !colspan=4|Third |- !colspan=2|Political party !Seats !Percentage of votes !colspan=2|Political party !Seats !Percentage of votes !colspan=2|Political party !Seats !Percentage of votes |- |2nd<br/>{{small|([[1964 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1964]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |22 |52.07% |[[Independent politician|Independent]] |{{party color cell|Independent politician}} |5 |29.75% |People's Front |style="background:#FF948E;"| |4 |18.19% |- |3rd<br/>{{small|([[1969 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1969]])}} |30 |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |15 |33.70% |[[Indian National Congress]] |rowspan=2 {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |10 |42.62% |[[Communist Party of India]] |{{party color cell|Communist Party of India}} |3 |12.62% |- |4th<br/>{{small|([[1974 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1974]])}} |30 |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |rowspan=2 {{party color cell|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |12 |27.83% |[[Indian National Congress]] |7 |15.95% |[[Indian National Congress (Organisation)]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress (Organisation)}} |5 |18.92% |- |5th<br/>{{small|([[1977 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1977]])}} |30 |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |14 |30.96% |[[Janata Party]] |{{party color cell|Janata Party}} |7 |26.45% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |3 |13.49% |- |6th<br/>{{small|([[1980 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1980]])}} |30 |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |14 |27.73% |[[Indian National Congress (Indira)]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress (Indira)}} |10 |23.92% |[[Janata Party]] |{{party color cell|Janata Party}} |3 |9.33% |- |7th<br/>{{small|([[1985 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1985]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |rowspan=6 {{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |15 |32.68% |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |6 |15.75% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |5 |29.08% |- |8th<br/>{{small|([[1990 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1990]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |11 |25.04% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |9 |24.07% |[[Janata Dal]] |{{party color cell|Janata Dal}} |4 |18.17% |- |9th<br/>{{small|([[1991 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1991]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |15 |30.00% |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |6 |17.34% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |4 |24.71% |- |10th<br/>{{small|([[1996 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|1996]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |9 |25.34% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |rowspan=3 {{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |7 |22.90% |[[Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar)]] |{{party color cell|Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar)}} |5 |9.23% |- |11th<br/>{{small|([[2001 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|2001]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |11 |22.78% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |7 |17.54% |[[Puducherry Makkal Congress]] |{{party color cell|Puducherry Makkal Congress}} |4 |10.24% |- |12th<br/>{{small|([[2006 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election|2006]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |10 |29.91% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |7 |12.59% |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |rowspan=3 {{party color cell|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |3 |16.04% |- |13th<br/>{{small|([[2011 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election|2011]])}} |30 |[[All India N.R. Congress]] |{{party color cell|All India N.R. Congress}} |15 |31.75% |[[Indian National Congress]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |7 |26.53% |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |5 |13.75% |- |[[14th Puducherry Assembly|14th]]<br/>{{small|([[2016 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election|2016]])}} |30 |[[Indian National Congress]] |{{party color cell|Indian National Congress}} |15 |30.60% |[[All India N.R. Congress]] |{{party color cell|All India N.R. Congress}} |8 |28.12% |[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |4 |16.82% |- |[[15th Puducherry Assembly|15th]]<br/>{{small|([[2021 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election|2021]])}} |30 |[[All India N.R. Congress]] |{{party color cell|All India N.R. Congress}} |10 |25.85% |[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] |{{party color cell|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}} |6 |18.51% |[[Bharatiya Janata Party]] |{{party color cell|Bharatiya Janata Party}} |6 |13.66% |} ==Bye-election== When an elected candidate to either the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, or Puducherry Legislative Assembly leaves the office vacant before their term ends, a bye-election is conducted to find a suitable replacement to fill the vacant position. It is often referred to as bye-polls. Common reasons for by-elections: *Resignation of the sitting M.P. or an M.L.A. *Death of the sitting M.P. or an M.L.A. But other reasons occur when the incumbent is disqualified for being ineligible to continue in office (criminal conviction, failure to maintain a minimum level of attendance in the office due to election irregularities found later, or when a candidate wins more than one seat and has to vacate one). ==See also== *[[Government of Puducherry]] ==References== {{reflist}} {{Puducherry elections}} {{Indian elections}} {{Assembly constituencies of Puducherry|state=collapsed}} [[Category:Elections in Puducherry]]'