Kolkata

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A man sleeps in an alley under a Communist Party of India (CPI) campaign poster in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little
Some young men prepare for a Communist Party of India campaign rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A Communist Party of India (CPI) rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man reacts to a CPI rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A young boy climbs a tree covered with campaign posters for Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress Party on election day in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A CPI rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A CPI rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man wearing a t-shirt depicting the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara rides his bicycle rickshaw through the quiet streets of Kalighat market on election day in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
Some men carry a campaign sign for Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress Party. Trevor Little.
Election day in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man wearing a t-shirt depicting the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara walks through the streets of Kalighat market in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man in Kalighat market shows off his neck tie supporting Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress Party on election day in Kolkata. Trevor Little.
A man rests in his rickshaw on election day in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A young boy plays with a mask of the Communist Party of India minister Gautam Deb on election day in Kolkata. Trevor Little.
A young man walks past a mural depicting the Trinamool Congress party near the residence of party leader Mamata Banerjee on election day in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man enjoys a cigarette before a CPI rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man rests outside his closed shop on election day in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A CPI rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
The sun sets on a CPI rally in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little
A man sleeps under a CPI campaign poster in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.
A man sells campaign flags in his shop in Kolkata, West Bengal. Trevor Little.

The fall of Communism in West Bengal

April 2011
by Trevor Little

In a small corner of the world’s largest democracy, the Indian state of West Bengal has been under communist rule for 34 years. That is until May of 2011 when Mamata Banerjee won a landslide victory for the All India Triamul Congress – defeating the worlds longest-serving democratically elected communist government.

These photos paint a small picture of what the feeling was on the streets of Kolkata in the days and weeks leading up to the April state assembly elections in West Bengal.

The results of the state assembly elections were clear long before voting began. In recent years, the people of Kolkata blamed the cities lack of economic growth on the CPI. This fault seemed to be amplified as other Indian metropolis’ such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore saw their largest economic growth in decades.

On May 18th, 2011 the All India Triamul Congress won a landslide 226 seats, to the CPI’s 62, effectively ending the communist rule over India’s third largest metropolis.