Election Results from the 5 States – Assam, W. Bengal, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – while reveal a mixed picture reflecting the specificites of the States, also underscore the ever-present and intensifying fascist threat across the country. For instance, while ‘anti- incumbancy’ played a major role in the poll outcome in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the continuation of the fascist ‘double engine’ governments in Assam (and Puducherry) brings to the fore the irrelevance of such an incumbancy factor once fascists capture power. That’s, the Election Commission and the entire administrative machinery being under the total control of the double engine, it reveals the increasing difficulty to remove a fascist regime through election. Thus, the government of Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is accused of incitement to violence and a “call to genocide” of Bengali Muslim migrants continue in power even after the election.
The most tragic outcome of the current State elections is the BJP’s ascendancy to power in W. Bengal, gaining almost two-thirds of the total Assembly seats. The transformation of Bengal as a ‘double engine’ is the result of a host of factors such as a planned process dragging the State under the fascist stranglehold by the Central regime through all avenues at its disposal including the systematic disenfranchisement of millions of Muslim and non-BJP voters through SIR, the simmering discontent of the people against the TMC regime, and, more specifically, the division of the anti-fascist votes against BJP, in which all the so-called non-fascist sections including even the Left has a role. Now, the fascist double engine taking over power in Bengal will add a qualitative dimension to the intensifying fascist onslaught at the all India level.
The stunning and unexpected rise of TVK led by actor Vijay, facilitated by youth support, has resulted in a disruption of the general bipolar political situation in Tamil Nadu. Of course, though less-discussed, it is the people’s opposition to the neoliberal policies of Stalin-led DMK government that led to its failure in a three-cornered fight. At the same time, it is upto the anti-fascist and non-fascist parties, who have representation in the newly-elected Assembly, to rise to the occasion and take an appropriate decision to keep the RSS-BJP away from power in Tamil Nadu. Any failure in this may give ample opportunities for the fascist forces, in view of Vijay’s ‘non-ideological politics’ so far displayed by him.
The poll result in Kerala inflicting the biggest electoral debacle on CPI(M) was not unexpected. This defeat of the depoliticised Pinarayi government, CPI (M)’ s last bastion in India, was long overdue on account of its pro-corporate, soft-Hindutva, Islamophobic and anti-Dalit orientation. While the retreat of the Pinarayi government is welcome, BJP winning three Assembly seats for the first time in Kerala should be seen as part of the intensifying penetration of RSS fascism in to the social fabric of Kerala.
Here, it is not intended to go for a detailed elaboration of the Election results. To be precise, the biggest threat that the country faces today is RSS’ maddening pace towards its ultimate goal of establishing a fascist, majoritarian, Brahmanical Hindu Rashtra. At this critical juncture, the task of the revolutionary left and democratic forces is to unite with all those who are targeted and oppressed by fascism, and to build up the broadest possible unity of all the anti-fascist and non-fascist forces across the country. In the electoral front, this calls for similar unity against BJP and its allies at all levels. This Assembly election has again become an eye-opener to all anti-fascist forces regarding the indispensable need of such an anti-fascist unity at the all India level.
P J James
General Secretary
CPI (ML) Red Star
New Delhi
05. 05. 2026
