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Record win for Left in West Bengal

Marcus Dam

The credit for our victory goes to the people, says Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee The credit for our victory goes to the people, says Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

LANDSLIDE WIN: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee flashes the victory sign in Kolkata on Thursday after being declared elected from the Jadavpur constituency by a margin of over 58,000 votes. - PHOTO: AP

Kolkata: The Left Front swept to power for a record seventh successive time with more than a two-thirds majority, decimating a fragmented Opposition in the 14th West Bengal Assembly elections, results of which were announced on Thursday. While its main constituent, the Communist Party of India [Marxist], increased its share of seats to win a comfortable majority on its own, the strength of both the major Opposition parties - the Trinamool Congress and the Congress - was considerably reduced.

Tally increases

The Left Front increased its tally by 36, winning 235 seats out of the 293 constituencies which went to the polls in five phases from April 17 to May 8.

The strength of the Trinamool which could bag only 29 seats was more than halved [it won 60 in the 2001 polls] and that of the Congress which won a meagre 21 seats, reduced by five seats.

Voting in one constituency — Bhatpara — was countermanded following the death of a candidate.

Improved show

The CPI(M) which won 176 seats increased its tally by 33. As for its other major partners in the Left Front, the All India Forward Bloc won 23 as against 25 in the 2001 polls, the Revolutionary Socialist Party 20, a gain of three from the last polls and the Communist Party of India eight, a gain of one seat. The West Bengal Socialist Party, the Democratic Socialist Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal [whose candidate the Left Front supported] won in eight seats.

The Gorkha National Liberation Front retained its hold on three seats in the Darjeeling hills, the Socialist Unity Centre of India won two seats, Independents won an equal number and the Jharkhand Party [Naren] won one.

"The credit for our victory goes to the people", Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said. Asked whether it was "the Buddha magic" that had resulted in the resounding success of the Left Front he replied: "[it is not a case of] `I' business but [of] `we' business. The victory is not mine but ours."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi congratulated Mr. Bhattacharjee on the Left Front victory.

Veteran Marxist leader and former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu described the Left Front's landslide win as a "victory of the common people."

Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee said that she was "not disappointed" with the results.

In a dig at the media, of which she has been critical, particularly their exit polls, she said that "they [the media] are the Man of the Match."

Prominent losers

Despite the resounding Left success three Ministers — Labour Minister Mohd. Amin of the CPI(M), Relief Minister Hafiz Alam Sairani of the All India Forward Bloc and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prabodh Chandra Sinha of the Democratic Socialist Party were defeated. Other prominent losers were Rabin Deb of the CPI(M), chief whip of the Left Front in the last Assembly, former Mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Subrata Mukherjee of the Congress, and leader of the Congress Legislative Party Atish Sinha.

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