Communists attract middle class voters

Kolkata: Millions voted yesterday in an east Indian state where the ruling communists are expected to return to power with the unusual support of a new, well-heeled middle class.

The five-stage election in West Bengal, a state of 80 million people, is one of five state polls seen as the biggest test for the Congress party-led federal coalition which came to power in 2004.

West Bengal has the world's longest-serving elected communist government which is looking forward to a seventh straight term, this time with the help of people who shunned it in the past.

The state's ruling left has actively wooed foreign and domestic investment after years of focusing on land reform and empowering poor peasants.

The vote pits India's communists, who support the federal coalition, against the Congress in two states and analysts say a good showing by the left could see it gain more influence in New Delhi over foreign and economic policies.

"Thank God, Kolkata is changing. I will vote for the left for the first time, as the quality of life in the city is better," said hotel executive Salmoli Mukerji.

Her sentiments were echoed across many upmarket localities of Kolkata with voters crediting reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Kolkata, once known for its urban poverty and Mother Teresa's efforts to ease its effects, is witnessing a real estate and retail boom with new shopping malls, hotels and modern offices springing up. Investors, including global and Indian IT giants, have flocked to the city.

In the upmarket Salt Lake area, where large houses stand opposite glittering glass-and-concrete IT campuses, middle-class voters back the new, pro-business line of the communists.

"This government is doing a lot. It is really okay," Rakesh Modi, a stock market broker in his 30s, said after voting.

Another voter, leading travel agent Anil Punjabi, agrees, saying his business has soared in the past few years with more people travelling and airlines flying into the city.

"Earlier, the communist government had a "can't do" attitude to business. Now it is "can do" and about time," Punjabi said after voting for his local communist candidate.

West Bengal saw a flight of capital in the late 1970s and 1980s after the communists backed militant unionism.

Yesterday's polls involve more than 12 million people voting for 76 seats in the 294-member state assembly. Ballots are due to be counted on May 11 and results expected the same day.

Security was tight across Kolkata and two neighbouring districts also voting and there were no reports of violence.

Officials said at least 70 per cent of the electorate voted, according to initial estimates.

But not everyone is impressed by the city's changing political and geographical landscape.

"No one's any good," said Daud Moola, a labourer at a local brick kiln. "I am still poor."