Communists have led the state of West Bengal for 50 years. I think "communist" here means "capitalist," or "industrialist." They're tyrannical and have exploited the environment and the tribals and villagers for money since India's independence. And, by the way, as I've heard it, they blew up the train that had left from the same Kolkata station we arrived to on the same day (in order to blame extremists--extremists with better aim--they don't just go for civilians). These villagers are celebrating the victory of a woman in an opposing party, the "grassroots party," I think. We heard firecrackers and music in nearby villages for days after her win. In Kokata, on election day, we had the city streets to ourselves--nobody was out, one of the eeriest things in India, where walking down the street in a village is nearly impossible with all the traffic, let alone in one of its biggest cities.
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