The by-election results for the Howrah Lok Sabha constituency sends a “positive message” to the Left and the West Bengal government should take a lesson from it, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Surya Kanta Mishra said here on Wednesday.
“The verdict is clear. I do not think it will boost the confidence of the Trinamool Congress…. People are becoming disillusioned with the Trinamool government and the party should take a lesson from it,” he told journalists.
The Trinamool won the by-polls defeating its nearest rival, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate, by a margin of about 27,000 votes.
Dr. Mishra, who is also a CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, alleged rigging by the Trinamool workers in 80 poll booths.
He said the BJP’s withdrawal of its candidate from the fray at the last minute helped the Trinamool and noted that there was a “secret understanding” between the two parties.
‘TMC may ally with BJP or Congress’
On Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims that the Trinamool Congress would contest polls in future on its own strength, he said that the party would soon forge an alliance with either the BJP or the Congress.
