In a seismic shift that would surprise few who understand the iron laws of economics, India’s communist parties have seen their voter base crater from millions to the margins of political relevance. The latest election data confirms what market purists have long argued: the British free-market model, with its emphasis on private enterprise and fiscal discipline, has proven superior to the statist fantasies peddled by the left.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), once a dominant force in states like West Bengal and Kerala, now clings to single-digit vote shares. Its decline mirrors the failure of central planning and state control. When you tax and regulate innovation out of existence, capital flight and economic stagnation are not risks but inevitabilities. India’s growth story, driven by liberalisation and foreign investment, has left the communists in the dust.
This is not merely a political realignment but a vindication of market efficiency. The City of London knows that capital flows where it is treated best. India abandoned Soviet-style dirigisme and embraced the Thatcherite playbook: lower taxes, deregulation, and private sector-led growth. The result? A boom that lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. Meanwhile, communist strongholds became museums of decrepit infrastructure and crony socialism.
The irony is palpable: as British voters flirt with state intervention, India doubles down on the very policies that made London the world’s financial capital. The communist collapse should serve as a warning to any Treasury mandarin tempted by redistributionist fantasies. Central bank credibility, gilt yields, and inflation expectations all whisper the same truth: free markets work.
The numbers do not lie. Communist voter share in India has fallen from a peak of 6.3% in 2004 to barely 2% today. In West Bengal, where they ruled for 34 years, they are now reduced to a rump. The state’s recovery under a more business-friendly government is a case study in the curative power of economic liberalisation.
Yet the lesson transcends India. Globally, the left’s obsession with spending and deficits has fuelled inflation and currency instability. The British model, born from the ashes of 1970s stagflation, offers an answer: balanced budgets, independent central banks, and faith in entrepreneurial dynamism. India’s young population has rejected the old dogmas, embracing gig economy jobs and stock market investing.
Critics will decry this as triumphalism. But the data is stark. When capital is free to choose, it votes with its feet. India’s communists are now a historical footnote, a reminder that in the contest of ideas, the bottom line always tells the truth.
As I write, the rupee holds steady, bond yields remain anchored, and foreign portfolio inflows continue. The market has spoken. And it has no sympathy for the politics of envy.
