Communists in India call election a "people's verdict" and "setback for BJP" while decrying lack of fairness

Flags wave at a CPI(M) rally in late April - image via the CPI(M)

Both the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) are celebrating the election results in India as a victory for democracy and a blow to the authoritarian, right-wing rule of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The CPI(M) called it a "people's verdict" and said the BJP "has lost its majority in the Lok Sabha which it had got in the past two Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019. This is a stinging blow to the image of invincibility built around Narendra Modi, who had boasted about winning 400 seats in this election."

The CPI, meanwhile, said "The results of the 18th Lok Sabha election have ended the one party authoritarian, corporate backed communal fascist rule of BJP headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people of India have given their verdict in defence of our constitution and secular democratic fabric of our country and against the politics of hate, discriminations, growing unemployment, attacks on federalism, minorities, democratic and human rights and unparallel miseries of the people with high price rise.

CPI congratulates the people for opposing and challenging the BJP by giving their verdict in defence of “Idea of India” enshrined in the constitution."

Both parties decried and denounced the fact that the elections were unfair noting that properly fair elections would have led to an even better result for the opposition.

The CPI(M) stated that "elections were held in the background of all out attacks on the opposition parties, misuse of Central agencies and massive use of money power. The Polit Bureau congratulates the people for standing up to these authoritarian attacks and safeguarding the Constitution, democracy and civil rights...

The results would have been more adverse for the BJP and the NDA if the Election Commission had ensured a level-playing field. It's abject failure to curb the inflammatory communal rhetoric of Narendra Modi and enforce the Model Code of Conduct is a blot on the reputation of the Commission."

The CPI "also wants to register its criticism against the Election Commission of India for its failure to contain the hate speeches by Narendra Modi on the issues of communal polarization."

Both the CPI(M) and CPI say that further analysis of the election results, including specifically the results for the Left, will be coming in future.