1980 Pondicherry Legislative Assembly election

After sweeping to power in Tamil Nadu in June 1977, M. G. Ramachandran led the AIADMK to victory in the Puducherry Assembly election in October, winning 14 seats , aided by the shared language and cultural ties between the two regions.

In 1978, Prime Minister Morarji Desai proposed merging smaller Union Territories with neighbouring states. Puducherry, a former French enclave, was considered for merger with Tamil Nadu (along with Karaikal), while Mahe and Yanam were proposed to be merged with Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. However, provisions in the treaty with France required the preservation of Puducherry’s distinct identity and mandated prior consultation with the French government before any change in its status.^[5]

MGR reportedly supported the proposal, describing it as a “bitter but helpful medicine,” triggering widespread opposition across the Union Territory. Despite being in power, local AIADMK leaders and cadres opposed the move. The AIADMK government was dismissed in November 1978, and anti-merger agitations in January 1979 turned violent. Following strong resistance from the opposition parties like DMK and Congress, the Centre abandoned the proposal. The controversy over a proposed merger, significantly dented AIADMK’s popularity, leading to its rout in the 1980 election, where it failed to win a single seat, paving the way for the DMK to form the government.

In the subsequent decades, political instability, defections, and dependence on the Centre, seen as contradictory to the Dravidian parties AIADMK and DMK advocacy of state autonomy, reportedly led them to view Puducherry as a political burden. Consequently, from the 1990s onward, their reduced focus enabled the Indian National Congress to re-emerge as a dominant force in the Union Territory.^[6]

• List of constituencies of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly
• 1980 elections in India