India No Longer Has Communist-Led State Governments After Kerala Election

For the first time since 1957, India no longer has a communist-led state government. This month, after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was defeated in Kerala after a decade-long rule, one of the world's longest-running experiments in democratic communism has ended, at least for now.

At their peak, communist parties in India ruled states from West Bengal to Kerala and Tripura. Through trade unions, peasant organizations, student organizations, and disciplined party structures, they influenced the lives of more than 100 million people.