of the twenty Regionales. History The MMM was founded in 1968 as a students' movement (Club des Étudiants Mauriciens) by Paul Bérenger, Dev Virahsawmy, Zeel Peerun, Jooneed Jeeroburkhan, Fureed Muttur, Chafeekh Jeeroburkhan, Sushil Kushiram, Tirat Ramkissoon, Krishen Mati, Ah-Ken Wong, Kriti Goburdhun, Allen Sew Kwan Kan, Vela Vengaroo, and Amedee Darga amongst others. In September 1969 it became the Mouvement Militant Mauricien. The early years The MMM won its first parliamentary seat in a by-election in the Triolet/Pamplemousses constituency in September 1970, following the death of former Attorney-General Lall Jugnauth, who had held the seat. Dev Virahsawmy, the MMM candidate, defeated the candidate supported jointly by the governing Labour Party, the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD), and a smaller party (CAM) by over 5000 votes. The MMM experienced its first schism in 1973, when Dev Virahsawmy left the party to found the MMMSP. The path to power: 1976-1982 In 1976, in the first general election since independence, the MMM emerged as the largest single party, with 34 of the 70 National Assembly seats. The Labour Party, led by the incumbent Prime Minister, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, won 28 seats, and the PMSD, led by Sir Gaëtan Duval won 8. The MMM was only two seats short of a majority, but Ramgoolam remained in office by forming a coalition with the PMSD. The MMM formed a strong parliamentary opposition with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as Leader of the Opposition. Prior to the December 1976 elections Heeralall Bhugaloo defected from the MMM to join the Labour Party. For several years Heeralall Bhugaloo had been President of the MMM. Other members also followed his lead including Ramesh Fulena and Vijay Makhan. The MMM won power in the municipalities of Port Louis, Beau Bassin/Rose Hill and Vacoas/Phoenix. The first MMM mayors were Kader Bhayat (Port Louis), Jean Claude de l'Estrac (Beau Bassin/Rose Hill) and D. Jhuboolall (Vacoas/Phoenix). On the 13th of January 1977 Heeralall Bhugaloo resigned from his position of Minister of Education under the Labour-PMSD government which he had held since the December 1976 elections. This made way for Kher Jagatsingh who took on Bhugaloo's ministerial seat. In the following election in 1982, the MMM campaigned on a theme of change. Using the slogan, Enn nouvo simen pou enn nouno lavie , the MMM won 42 of the directly elected seats in its own right, with a further 18 seats going to the PSM and