Finally, Hammered & Sickled?

May 3, 2026 | 12:51 IST

If CPM-led LDF loses in Kerala on May 4, India will see its first Left-free govt landscape in nearly half a century. The bigger story? Communist parties failed to find a new vocabulary for new India

On May 4, Kerala may end up delivering a result bigger than its own election. If LDF loses, India will, for the first time in nearly half a century, have no Left govt anywhere in the country. The symbolism would be hard to miss. Just three days after May 1, celebrated across the world as Labour Day, India could find itself effectively without a governing communist outpost.
That would mark the end of an extraordinary run. Since Jyoti Basu took office in West Bengal in June 1977, there has never been a day without a Left govt in India. When Bengal fell in 2011, Tripura remained red. When Tripura fell in 2018, Kerala was already back under Pinarayi Vijayan.

TOI

TOI

Finally, Hammered & Sickled?

If CPM-led LDF loses in Kerala on May 4, India will see its first Left-free govt landscape in nearly half a century. The bigger story? Communist parties failed to find a new vocabulary for new India

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TOI

Finally, Hammered & Sickled?

If CPM-led LDF loses in Kerala on May 4, India will see its first Left-free govt landscape in nearly half a century. The bigger story? Communist parties failed to find a new vocabulary for new India

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