1957, Kerala: First democratically elected Communist government in the world. Comrade EMS Namboodiripad created history in the God's Own Country and ensured that the Left became a force in the Indian polity.
2026, Kerala: In the same state, the Left stares at its very existential crisis.
An election that it cannot afford to lose.
If the Left Front loses this electoral battle, it will lose its last remaining bastion.
And the battle is tough.
The Left Front is battling a 10-year incumbency after it managed to beat Kerala's revolving door political system with a big win in 2021, when the state was known to change governments every five years. Can it score a hattrick to make history again or will it be relegated to history?
Having lost West Bengal and later Tripura, Kerala remains the last red stand.
On his memorial day, we pay tribute to Com. EMS, a revolutionary whose vision laid the foundations of modern Kerala. As a leader, intellectual, and administrator, his legacy remains an eternal source of inspiration in our struggle for a better, more equitable future. Comrade EMS… pic.twitter.com/14wwWuuikC
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) March 19, 2026
The Rise and the golden age
The four decades from 1967 to 2004 were arguably the golden age of the Left dominance in India. In this period, the Left parties won on average 50 seats in every election and influenced the national polity.
The big high came in 2004, when the Communists won 59 Lok Sabha seats and were the bedrock of the first United Progressive Alliance or UPA government.
Since the initial years of its rise, the Left dominated almost all the people's movements, the cultural spaces, the arts, the poetry and literary circles.
The big win in 2004 influenced the UPA-I and played a prime role in people-centric policies which reflected in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Right to Information Act, and schemes such as loan waiver. Left's disapproval of the India-US nuclear deal almost brought down the Manmohan Singh government in 2008.
Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal were the red forts.
Communist ruled West Bengal for 34 years (from 1977 to 2011) and Tripura for 25 years (from 1993 to 2018). Kerala has seen red governments since 1957. Apart from the three states, the Left also played a key role in the Third Front from 1996-98 and then the Congress-led UPA in 2004.
Backward March: Left, Left, Left
2009 elections onwards, it's been a story of downward spiral for the Communists. The Left won 25 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha, dwindled to 11 in 2014, and got almost decimated in 2019 with just 5 Parliament seats, which was an all-time low; before recovering slightly in 2024 with 8 seats.
CPI(M), the largest component of the Left Front, polled 1.76% votes while CPI polled 0.49%. In 2024, the Left parties had contested the least number of seats. 20 years prior, at its height in 2004, CPI(M) had polled 5.66% votes fighting 69 seats and winning 43 seats.
The oldest of the Communist parties, the CPI, lost its national party status in 2023 due to dismal poll results in the 2019 elections.
In West Bengal, where it had the longest and strongest run, the Left Front has seen a dramatic decline, dropping from a dominant force to zero seats in the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with vote shares plummeting to 5.5% in 2021.
Comrades, where are the leaders?
The Left, in decades, has not seen a towering leader like Harkishan Singh Surjeet. A pragmatic coalition builder, Surjeet was instrumental in the formation of UPA-1. His mantle was somewhat taken by his political protege Sitaram Yechury, who exuded Surjeet's dynamism, political practicality and bridge building instincts. He left too soon.
Now, the Left is devoid of any nationally recognisable leadership.
Kerala communists more or less remain a Pinarayi Vijayan show. Vijayan has worked hard to change the Left's image of being obstructionist and anti-corporate in his tenure as Chief Minister. Today he is happy rubbing shoulders with top corporates and flaunts new ports and industries as his achievements.
Kerala moves forward!
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) January 24, 2026
Inaugurated the Phase II expansion of @PortOfVizhinjam & the new Port-NH link road today. From being "the land where nothing happens" to hosting the world's largest mother ships, we've proved the critics wrong.
Remarkably, we are set to complete all… pic.twitter.com/EJxLWoEzld
A stark contrast to his predecessor VS Achuthanandan, who personally tore down Tata signboards in the tea gardens of Munnar.
As India became more aspirational and capitalised, the Left got left out.
Seen as a dogmatic ideology not in sync with the aspirations of new India, Communists lost their political charm. And the absence of powerful and nationally known leaders only furthered the decline.
Will red hope float in backwaters?
That is why Kerala is such an existential election for the Left. A loss may not necessarily mean a wipeout from Kerala for Left as the Communists are a big force in the state with a dedicated cadre base, but it will surely be a big hit nationally as it will leave the Left with no government across the country.
Will the God's Own Country keep the nationally sinking red ship sailing? Or will it be the last nail in the Communists' political coffin. Kerala brought Communists to the national political picture decades ago in 1957. Will it keep them afloat or sink them in the backwaters of political oblivion? May 4 will truly be a red-letter day in the Indian political annals.
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