Joy at end of three decades of Communist rule

Fiery opposition leader Mamata Banerjee won a sweeping victory yesterday against the Communists who have controlled the Indian state of West Bengal for more than three decades.

Wild jubilation swept India's most populous state, with supporters of Banerjee's Trinamool party - allied to the ruling Congress party - blowing conch shells and tossing green powder in the air -- the party's colour.

Considering the simultaneous defeat of the Communists in Kerala state, the Bengali verdict appeared to vindicate Congress's national pro-market policies by the weakening its most consistent opponent of globalisation and economic reform.

But Kerala's race was tight, and Bengal's more a protest against Communist corruption and ineffectiveness. State elections in India are largely fought on local issues, and in many cases Congress plays a junior role in state coalitions.

Opponents had been trying to unseat the Bengali Communists since 1977, and Banerjee said the result reflected a prolonged "freedom struggle."

"We want to dedicate our victory to our people and motherland," said Banerjee, who is likely to quit as national railways minister to become West Bengal's chief minister. "We will give good governance and good administration, not autocracy."

She asked her supporters to abstain from alcohol and victory rallies to help maintain calm in the volatile state. Security was tight to deter any violence by Communist supporters.

Outgoing Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya conceded defeat, while national Communist MP Sitaram Yechury said it was normal for Bengalis to seek change after 34 years and that the party would be back.

Yechury also played down the loss of Kerala by saying the narrow margin showed it was "one of the closest-fought elections" in the southern state's history.

Analysts said the party must rethink its policies and inject new blood if it wants a fighting chance in future. The Communists now control only the small, north-eastern state of Tripura.

Congress comfortably won re-election over a fractured opposition in north-eastern Assam, where it has been holding peace talks with secessionist militants that have helped calm decades of violence.

Home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram called the result "spectacular," while prime minister Manmohan Singh congratulated both Banerjee and Assam's chief minister, Tarun Gogoi.

"Voters have reaffirmed their faith in the Congress government," after its efforts to each out to the militants, Gogoi said.

But in Tamil Nadu, Congress and regional ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were beaten badly, and the DMK leader conceded by resigning as chief minister. The DMK was implicated in a mobile-phone licensing scandal that cost the nation tens of billions of dollars.

The tiny state of Pondicherry voted along with Tamil Nadu against the Congress bloc.

The leader of Tamil Nadu's winning party thanked voters for the "victory for democracy." People were "just waiting for a chance to vent their anger", Jayaram Jayalalitha said.

But the DMK's loss could be a blessing in disguise for Congress should it be seeking to cut ties with a scandal-plagued partner, though it also would add to public demand for good governance and accountability.