Communists sweep elections in Indian states

[JCMach1]

LOOKS LIKE THE WORLD IS MOVING LEFT!


The red flag swamped two out of five Indian states yesterday as the Marxists swept to victory in the assembly elections, putting to shade the Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi's own record margin in a parliamentary by-election.

The Communists' seventh successive poll success in the eastern state of West Bengal and the Congress rout in Kerala is set to change power equations at the centre where Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, supported by the Left, has been bitterly attacked by their ally over its economic reforms and ties with the United States.

Communists hosted feasts in front of huge TV screens, waving red flags with their faces painted red as the sheer scale of the victory sunk in...

The Congress, facing its biggest electoral test since coming to power two years ago, struggled to retain its majority in the northeastern state of Assam where neither it with 45 seats, nor the opposition Asom Gana Parishad with 24 seats, were comfortably home. Together, other parties and independents have a tally of 48 in the 125-seat Assembly.

The Congress must forge a coalition in the former French enclave of Pondi-cherry where it had a majority. It's only in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, that the Congress can find comfort as a junior partner in a coalition government headed by its ally, the regional Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party which unseated film-star-turned chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram. But even in that state, the Left is part of the winning combination led by Muthuvel Karunanidhi's DMK...

Manmohan Singh, in an apparent bid to humour his Communist allies, said the poll results were a "victory for secular forces." Other Congress officials put up a brave face. "I think we are as much victors as the Left is," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said. "So why assume that the Left will be unreasonable in victory?"... http://gulfnews.com/world/India/10039454.html

[Hardrada]

1. Hurrah! The Worker's Flag is Deepest RED!

Avanti Populo!

[Bhaisahab]

2. That was expected, but is sweet nonetheless

West Bengal and Kerala states are Communist bastions, and have been thus for decades, so no surprises there. but i just love the uncomfortable faces middle class indians make at the news of another left win. at a time when the centrist Congress and the rightist BJP are determined to walk over the poor in the bid to make India a "developed" country, the left parties have emerged as the conscience keepers of the nation.
the left parties are also full of polishitians, but man for man (or woman for woman) they are outnumbered by real politicians, who sincerely strive to bring equality and justice to the vulnerable and the poor. no wonder the left is in the strongest position (electorally) in this country since independence.

[JCMach1]

3. Good analysis....

:)

[bemildred]

4. Thank you for your analysis. nt

[David__77]

15. CPI-M isn't really communist.

And neither is CPI. The people support them because they think they are though. They're following a neo-liberal economic model with regard to FDI and so forth. I think the following site has some good criticism of them:

http://www.peoplesmarch.com

Yes, they support the Naxalites... that doesn't negate their viewpoints, however.

[lovuian]

5. Lets see US corporations are going to a communist country

with jobs... I can't wait for outsourcing to bite them in butt!!!

[fujiyama]

18. Read below

These are individual state government that have elected communist officials.

India isn't a communist country. Though I agree, that if this becomes more widespread, then outsourcing will indeed become difficult...

[RedStateShame]

6. Prediction

Bush lumps India in the "Axis of Evil" in 5, 4, 3.....

[GeorgiaDem69]

7. Hmm

You know, I understand that communism is good in theory, but the fact is very few communist regimes have done anything good for their citizens. The old USSR and satellite countries, current N. Korea, and current China were or are very hard on certain segments of their population. Anyone remember the Berlin Wall coming down and the elation of the East German citizens?

[Bhaisahab]

10. communists have changed

i understand your apprehensions about communists, but you know what, i keep it simple. to me, the old marxist style communism was a reaction to over-exploitative capitalism. from that start point, communism mutated into the establishment of 'anti-capitalist' (ie the antithesis of capitalism) countries. it didn't work out.
this new wave of communist electoral victories throughout the developing world, on the other hand, seems to me to be a reaction against 'globalization,' which has decimated indigenous peoples and vulnerable communities throughout the world in the pursuit of ever higher profits. therefore, the communists of today are not exactly dyed in the wool 'comrade'-gushing types. in india at least. out here, they fully respect and allow private enterprise. in fact, West Bengal state, a communist bastion for 30 years, is one of the leading states in India in terms of multinational investments. where they differ from the centrists and rightists is in their staunch oppostition to any move that will benefit the multinational or private enterprise over the rights of a labourer/farmer/salaried employee.
to me, the communists are the only organized force that can halt the relentless march of neo-capitalism, no longer buggered by the spectre of the Soviet state, across continents and neighbourhoods, bilking poor people and calling it 'globalization.'
i'll leave you with this bit of gyan by Arundhati Roy, who was interviewed in Tehelka magazine. i wish i could post the whole extensive interview, but Tehelka online is subscribers only, and the print edition is only available in india. it was a KICK ASS interview, spread over 2 issues of the magazine. Over to Ms. Roy -

"The keystone of the alternative world would be that nothing can justify the violation fo the fundamental rights of citizens. That comes first. The growth rate comes second. Otherwise democracy has no meaning. You cannot resort to algebra: you cannot say I'm taking away the livelihood of 200,000 to enhance the livelihood of 2 million. Imagine what would happen if the government were to take the wealth of 200,000 of India's richest and re-distribute it amongst 2 million of India's poorest? We would hear a lot about socialist appropriation and the death of democracy. Why should taking from the rich be called appropriation and taking from the poor be called development?"

[Warren Stupidity]

11. There are communists and there are communists.

Of course the marxist/leninist/stalinist totalitarian model of communism was a total disaster. However that has not generally been the model of the Indian communist parties, for example in Kerala where they long governed democratically, and are now back in power, they established quite a remarkable democratic socialist society. Modern 'reformed' communist political parties are generally democratic, and aim at a socialist transformation of society within a democratic polticial framework.

[noonwitch]

14. That's because communism does not recognize individual rights

That is the main reason I don't support communism in my own country. It puts "community rights" above individual freedoms and rights.

If other nations vote for a communist system, that is their perogative. If the democratically elected communists do not violate international standards regarding human rights, we should still have full diplomatic and economic relations with them. In other words, judging a nation's record should not be based solely on judging their political philosophy, but on how that philosophy is enacted and how it affects the people.

It is hard to lead the world in this area, however, when the Bush administration has allowed or encouraged the types of activities done to "unlawful combatants".

[cantstandbush]

8. Let's see again: We support nukes in the hands of Communists states?

But we will not allow Iran to have nukes to protect themselves from others who have nukes and who have already threatened Iran (US, Israel, Pakistan, etc.)?

[GeorgiaDem69]

9. Correct

We will not allow Iran, who has called for wiping Israel off the face of the earth, to possess nuclear weapons. That seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Bhaisahab]

12. dude, India is not a 'communist state'

its more like an imperfect democracy :)

[cantstandbush]

19. It's becoming one. When they take over the government what will it be?

[David__77]

13. First of all, India is not a "communist state."

It has local communist elected governments. That's different from what I imagine you're talking about. Second, they're not really communists anyway. They're social democrats with a red cover.

[GeorgiaDem69]

17. I'm not claiming India is a communist state

And a few local officials is very different from what I was talking about. I guess my point was more communist society's don't really seem to work.

[Orsino]

16. If we refuse to regulate capitalism...

...communism must look like a good alternative to the robber barons.