Communists overthrown in two Indian states

NEW DELHI -- A fiery opposition leader won a sweeping victory on Friday against the Communists who have controlled the Indian state of West Bengal for more than three decades, in one of two major losses for the Communists in state elections.

Mamata Banerjee's victory came as votes were being tallied in four other state elections across India.

Her allies in the nationally ruling Congress party expressed confidence that their coalition would emerge from the polls relatively unscathed despite a string of national corruption scandals and recent protests against food inflation.

The Communists also lost narrowly in southern Kerala, the only other state they had controlled, suggesting the party may have trouble in the next general elections in 2014. The results are a vindication of the pro-market reforms of Congress and its allies, which drew vocal opposition from the Communists.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/13/general-as-india-state-elections_8464945.html

Using the term "overthrown" implies that they hadn't been holding power on legitimate democratic terms. There's no reason DU should ever use that kind of Cold War rhetoric.

Besides, the Communists in India aren't hardline Marxist-Leninist cadre. Their policies are effectively a somewhat more left-wing form of social democracy.

I can't understand why anybody anywhere in India would still vote Congress Party. Those guys don't stand for anything anymore. Still, whatever.

(on edit)

Oh, I just now realized this was a link from Forbes. No wonder they'd use a headline like that.

According to them, Capitalism put a man on the moon, while all Communism ever did was hurl some trash into a low orbit.