Unexpected election losses rock the left in India

India’s Kerala, which gave the world its first democratically elected communist government, has voted the left out in the recent state elections, which saw left wing party losses across the country.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M) Kerala, posted on X that the loss of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the bloc it is part of, was “unexpected”, while promising to fix mistakes.

The defeat suffered by the LDF in the Assembly elections in the state is unexpected. While accepting the setback, necessary steps will be taken to rectify the shortcomings.

By addressing extreme poverty, the LDF government was able to transform Kerala, once weakened by the… pic.twitter.com/Mv4Uk8Sf4n

— CPI(M) Kerala (@CPIMKerala) May 5, 2026

However, it was not the BJP that unseated the LDF. The main opposition alliance, the UDF (United Democratic Front), led by India’s Congress Party, won the election. The CPI(M) warned that the Modi-led BJP winning three seats is still a “serious concern”.

Nationally, the CPI(M) said that in West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, the results show the “ascendancy of right-wing communal forces led by the BJP” as a matter of “deep concern”.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau statement on the Assembly #electionresult2026 pic.twitter.com/ndug60lOwg

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) May 4, 2026

The story is indeed not just about Kerala, as pointed out by Quint writer, Himanshi Dahiya.

But this is not just a Kerala story. It is a national inflection point. For the first time since 1977—nearly half a century—no Indian state has a communist government. The Left governed West Bengal from 1977 to 2011, Tripura from 1993 to 2018, and Kerala from 2016 to today. When one fell, another held.

BJP’s win in West Bengal

Modi’s BJP’s win in West Bengal is perhaps also unexpected since it has never governed the politically influential state. BJP won over Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Indian PM Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP is set to take control of West Bengal, an opposition stronghold, in legislative elections.

It would be a significant win for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has never governed the politically influential state. pic.twitter.com/zEShFriUgh

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 4, 2026

However, the BJP’s win in West Bengal is controversial. The Election Commission of India, acting under a BJP-led central government, has removed more than 10% of West Bengal’s electorate through a process it calls the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Progressive International reported.

India’s West Bengal is at the polls, but millions have been denied a vote. https://t.co/fogypPpgKT

— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) May 4, 2026

India’s opposition parties allege violations in the counting of votes that led to the BJP’s landslide victory in West Bengal.

India’s opposition parties allege large-scale violations in counting of votes that led to the BJP’s landslide victory in West Bengal https://t.co/tZgBoCd43c

— Bloomberg (@business) May 5, 2026

Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, backed Banerjee. He said “the theft of Assam and Bengal’s mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy”. He reprimanded his party’s members for “gloating” about TMC’s loss, insisting they look at the bigger picture.

Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC’s loss.

They need to understand this clearly – the theft of Assam and Bengal’s mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy.

Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 5, 2026

With Kerala’s left bastion finally falling, and the BJP raising its Hindu-nationalist saffron flag in West Bengal for the first time, India’s political landscape has entered a new and uncertain era of the BJP’s right-wing nationalism sweeping old fronts that were safe from it.

Featured image via Sajjad Hussain/ AFP/ Getty Images