Thaindian News

Kolkata, May 17 (IANS) Accusing the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) of keeping other Left Front partners in the dark on policy matters in West Bengal, a former minister Tuesday said the coalition should have gone for early polls last year to avoid the disgrace it is facing now.

“After the poll debacle in the 2009 Lok Sabha and last year’s civic polls, I repeatedly urged the CPI-M to approach the Election Commission for holding early assembly polls,” Socialist Party leader and outgoing fisheries minister Kiranmoy Nanda told IANS.

“Even if we had lost, our performance would have been much better then,” he said.

The Left Front’s 34-year reign in the state ended in the recent assembly elections after it could win only 62 out of the toal 294 seats.

The Trinamool Congress led alliance won a thumping victory by winning 227 seats.

Nanda held the CPI-M responsible for all policy decisions that led to the debacle.

“The CPI-M, being the Left Front major, never involved us in policy making, but we were always held responsible for the implementation of the policies. Often we would be blamed for the faulty policies,” said Nanda.

He also accused the communists for the poor show in the assembly polls, and said the arrogance and attitude of a section of the CPI-M cadres contributed to the rout.

According to him, faulty industrialisation policy and land acquisition drive eroded the front’s support base.

“The Left Front’s mainstays were the peasants and working class and now they have turned their back,” said Nanda.

Former PWD minister and Revolutionary Socialist Party leader Kshiti Goswami said: “The anti-incumbency factor coupled with the eroding rural vote bank contributed towards our defeat. Moreover, the women voted in favour of Trinamool as they all were more interested in having a woman chief minister in the state.”

Blaming the CPI-M for “arrogance and display of muscle power” by a section of its cadres, Goswami also said that “the mentality of the new generation has changed. They voted in favour of Trinamool, as they wanted to witness a change in power.”

“Some people have voted without comparing the development projects implemented by the government. Others believed Mamata would bring more investments than the CPI-M. They also believed that Trinamool, being an ally of the Congress-led UPA government at the centre, would draw more investment in development,” added Goswami.