National Democratic Front (French India)

The National Democratic Front (French: Front national démocratique) was a political coalition in French India. The movement dominated the political scene in the colony for a brief period until the emergence of a split between the socialists and communists in the coalition.

The National Democratic Front was founded in January 1946.^[1] The front consisted of communists, socialists, the Mahajan Sabha and the Combat group (led by Julien Adiceam, who had arrived in French India from Algeria).^[2][3]

The National Democratic Front contested the 1946 municipal, Representative Assembly and French National Assembly elections.^[4] The 1946 election manifesto of the National Democratic Front called for French India to become a fully autonomous unit within the French Union.^[5] The National Democratic Front won 30 out of the 44 seats in the 1946 French India Representative Assembly election.^[6] Communist leader V. Subbiah was amongst the National Democratic Front candidates elected.^[7] In the June 23, 1946 municipal elections the National Democratic Front captured all 22 municipalities of French India, winning 101 out of 122 municipal seats up for election.^[5][8] Kamal Ghosh, a National Democratic Front leader, became mayor of Chandernagore.^[9] The candidate of the National Democratic Front, Lambert Saravane, won the French India seat in the November 1946 election to the French National Assembly.^[10]

In July 1947 Edouard Goubert and his followers broke away from the National Democratic Front and formed the French India Socialist Party.^[5] Goubert's new party quickly gained the support of the French colonial administration.^[11] What remained of the National Democratic Front became dominated by the Communist Party of French India.^[9]