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Sunday, May 17, 2009
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National

Opposition breaks into Left citadel

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, the Trinamool Congress-Congress electoral combine brushed past the ruling Left Front to win a major share of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, considered a citadel of the Left for more than three decades.

The Trinamool Congress, the principal Opposition party that had won only a single seat in the last parliamentary polls, registered resounding gains in south Bengal and raised its tally to 19. The Congress held on to its previous tally of 6 seats.

The results, that came as a sledgehammer blow to the Left Front whose numbers were reduced by 20 to a mere 15, were also a grim reminder that its chances of returning to power in the State for a record eighth time in the Assembly polls due two years from now are grim.

It is its worst showing since it assumed power in the State in 1977.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) — allies of the Trinamool Congress — bagged one seat each. For the SUCI, it was the first win since the 1967 polls.

Ms. Banerjee said that the results were a “no-confidence” vote against the Left Front government in the State.

She would now press for early Assembly elections in West Bengal, she said.

Chairman of the Left Front Committee Biman Bose said that a probable reason for “the unexpected” was “the issue of a stable government [at the Centre].”

Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister and president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, said, “we have done exceedingly well [in the State] and must congratulate Mamata Banerjee for her leadership.”

Corrections and Clarifications

In a report "Opposition breaks into Left citadel" (May 17, 2009), the second paragraph said that the TMC bagged only one seat in the 2004 General Elections, while the KBK Graphic on page 1, "Lok Sabha poll outcome 2009" (May 17, 2009), gave the figure as two. Mr. Vijay Kumar clarifies: The information in the graphic is correct and based on Election Commission of India data. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had won two seats in the 2004 General Elections - Mamata Banerjee from Calcutta South and Purno Sangma from Tura in Meghalaya. Mr. Sangma briefly joined the TMC before returning to the NCP.

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