NEW DELHI: Hailing the verdict of the Assembly elections in Kerala and West Bengal as "splendid victories" for the Left parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said this election has "once and for all" put an end to the charge of "scientific rigging."

"This election has once and for all, exploded the pernicious propaganda that the CPI(M) and the Left Front win elections by `scientific rigging,' given the fact that the extraordinary measures taken by the Election Commission were hailed by the Opposition," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

The elections also raised a serious question on the nature and role of the Election Commission and he suggested a debate on it. There was a need for reforms in the functioning of the Commission without in anyway, detracting from the independence and integrity of the Commission.

The Left parties had questioned the approach of the Commission in having a five-phase poll in West Bengal as against a single-day election in Tamil Nadu.

Collective work

Giving his assessment of the verdict, Mr. Karat said that in West Bengal it was the collective work of the party and its workers that resulted in the return of the Left Front to office for the seventh time in succession with a three-fourth majority with the CPI(M) alone winning a majority of seats. He said besides retaining the support of the working people, the CPI(M) had been able to win over new sections. In Kerala, he said, the people voted decisively to bring the Left Democratic Front into the Government with a two-third majority. "This is an endorsement of the Left and democratic platform and an indictment of the five years of the UDF misrule."

Asked who would lead the LDF in Kerala, he said the party Polit Bureau would meet here on Saturday to take stock of the situation and the State Committee would meet after that to take a decision.

In Tamil Nadu, he said, the CPI(M) had already written a letter to the Governor extending support to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to form the Government.

In Assam, Mr. Karat, felt that the Congress which failed to win a majority but emerged as the single largest party would be in a position to form a Government.

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