The movement for unification with India gathered momentum under V. Subbiah, and gained a powerful ally when Edouard Goubert switched his loyalty to the pro-merger camp. A momentous event in the independence movement of Pondicherry occurred on 18 March 1954, when the members of the executive council, the mayor of Pondicherry, and leaders from seven adjoining communes proclaimed their decision to merge with India, without a referendum. All of the communes in Karaikal soon followed suit. This decision was to be confirmed by the representative assembly.