Bengal chose TMC as main anti-BJP force, but overlooked imp issues: CPI(M)

CPI(M) said in a statement that the Samyukta Morcha, comprising the Left Front, the Congress and the ISF, suffered electoral reverses in the West Bengal assembly polls and its political campaign did not find favour from the voters.

Kolkata: Days after being completely routed in the recently concluded assembly polls, the CPI(M) state committee on Sunday said people of West Bengal chose the TMC as the main anti-BJP force in the state and voted for the ruling party, "overlooking the issues of corruption and lawlessness".

The party said in a statement that the Samyukta Morcha, comprising the Left Front, the Congress and the ISF, suffered electoral reverses in the assembly polls and its political campaign did not find favour from the voters.

"The electoral defeat of the coalition was due to political and organisational reasons. People of the state did not have confidence in our front and policies. The call for an alternative government was rejected. "We could not reach out to the people with our views in a proper manner," said the statement issued by the CPI(M) after its state committee meeting held on May 29.

Read:'West Bengal results show people rejected BJP's politics of polarisation'

The virtual meeting was chaired by veteran party leader Biman Bose.

The Left and the Congress, which ruled the state for decades, have no representation in the assembly this time as their alliance with the ISF the Samyukta Morcha mustered a vote share of around 8 per cent.

The Trinamool Congress romped home in Bengal, pocketing 213 of the 292 assembly seats that went to polls and secured a third straight term in office.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party's main challenger, the BJP, bagged 77 seats, while the ISF, which contested with the symbol of the Rashtriya Secular Majlis Party, and an Independent, managed one seat each.

During the announcement of elections, there was "a strong anti establishment, anti-TMC sentiment that was replaced by anti-BJP feeling" in the wake of the saffron party's aggressive campaign, the state CPI(M) said.

Read:WB Assembly polls: Welcome to Didi-land, again

"With strong anti-BJP sentiment, people chose the TMC as the main competitor of the saffron camp in Bengal," the Left party said in its analysis.

Interestingly, the statement had no reference to the views expressed by political analysts who have questioned the election strategy the CPI(M) followed and the alliance it had formed with the Indian Secular Front ahead of the assembly polls.

Compared to the Lok Sabha elections, the CPI(M)'s poll percentage increased in 94 of the 138 assembly seats where the party contested, the statement claimed.

PTI