STATE elections in India have seen the right advance, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu chauvinist BJP winning control of the huge state of West Bengal and the communist-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) losing power in Kerala.

Final results for the four states were pending when the Morning Star went to press, but the Communist Party of India-Marxist acknowledged the defeat of its coalition government in Kerala, saying it “respects the people’s verdict and will introspect on the reasons that led to defeat.”

The new Keralan administration will be formed by the United Democratic Front, a bloc led by the Congress party. It’s a blow after the LDF administration succeeded in its goal of eliminating extreme poverty late last year.

The BJP has never controlled West Bengal, a state of over 100 million people, before. It looked set to hold onto power in Assam. Both states have been rocked by controversial voter list revisions which removed the vote from millions of people, mainly Muslims and ethnic minorities.

Results in the fourth state, Tamil Nadu, were not clear when this article was published.