Thaindian News

Kolkata, June 8 (IANS) West Bengal’s ruling Left Front should be mentally prepared to sit in the opposition after next year’s assembly elections, a leader of a front partner said Tuesday.

“We (Left Front) should prepare mentally to sit in the opposition chair after the 2011 election. This is democracy. At times you are in power with the people’s mandate, at times you play the role of the opposition,” Fisheries Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Kiranmoy Nanda said here.

At the same time, he ruled out any possibility of the assembly polls being advanced.

“There is no need to prepone the polls. I think it should be held at the scheduled time next year,” said Nanda, who formally announced the merger of his erstwhile West Bengal Socialist Party into the Samajwadi Party.

Nanda, a veteran politician, joined the Left Front in 1981 heading a splinter group - the West Bengal Socialist Party - of the Janata Party.

Nanda repeatedly slamed the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the Front, for its “big brotherly” attitude vis-a-vis its smaller allies.

“It is because of the wrong decisions and wrong policies that we have lost people’s support. Many a times decisions were taken, policies were announced without consulting the Left Front partners. But the Left Front as a whole had to pay for their (CPI-M’s) wrong decisions,” said Nanda.

“The CPI-M doesn’t want its partners in Left Front to grow. In many places they have tried to sideline us,” said Nanda, the all India general secretary of the Samajwadi Party. But he said his party would continue to be with the Left Front.