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. 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 ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

). The National Democratic Front contested the 1946 municipal, Representative Assembly and French National Assembly elections. The 1946 election manifesto of the National Democratic Front called for French India to become a fully autonomous unit within the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subj ...

. The National Democratic Front won 30 out of the 44 seats in the 1946 French India Representative Assembly election. Communist leader V. Subbiah was amongst the National Democratic Front candidates elected.''New Age''.
Paying Homage to Comrade V. Subbaiah
' 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. Kamal Ghosh, a National Democratic Front leader, became mayor of

Chandernagore Chandannagar french: Chandernagor ), also known by its former name Chandernagore and French name Chandernagor, is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is part ...

. The candidate of the National Democratic Front, Lambert Saravane, won the French India seat in the November 1946 election to the French National Assembly. In July 1947 Edouard Goubert and his followers broke away from the National Democratic Front and formed the

French India Socialist Party The French India Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste de l'Inde française) was a political party in French India. The party was led by Édouard Goubert, Minister for General Administration for French India.Mukherjee, Amiya Ranjan. Current ...

. Goubert's new party quickly gained the support of the French colonial administration.Markovits, Claude.
A history of modern India, 1480-1950
'. London: Anthem, 2004. p. 518 What remained of the National Democratic Front became dominated by the

Communist Party of French India The Communist Party of French India (french: Parti communiste de l'Inde française) was a political party in French India. V. Subbiah was the secretary of the party. History World War II and the National Democratic Front The Communist Party ...

.Neogy, Ajit K.
Decolonization of French India: Liberation Movement and Indo-French Relations, 1947-1954
'. Pondichéry: Institut français de Pondichéry, 1997. p. 24

References

{{Authority control Political parties in French India 1946 establishments in French India Political parties established in 1946 Political parties in Puducherry