CPI(M) chief Sitaram Yechury said the party will study the results after it was reduced to 33 seats in the 294-member assembly.
Highlights
- CPM's decision to partner with Congress in elections being questioned
- Mamata Banerjee won 211 seats, the Congress 44 and the Left only 33
- Leader of Opposition will be from the Congress
as she won West Bengal again, drew attention away from another set, as significant in the state's politics. The Left placed at number 3, behind the Congress with which it allied.
The 'jot' or the alliance with the Congress, described by its enthusiastic authors as "historic" and necessary to beat Mamata Banerjee before the elections, is being questioned by the CPM now.
Former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who said it was an alliance that would banish the dark clouds over Bengal, refused to take any questions while leaving the party headquarters on Thursday.
In its worst performance since 1977 - when the Left came to power in West Bengal to rule for the next three decades - the CPM's worst nightmare has come true. Reduced to only 33 seats in the 294-member assembly, behind the Congress with 44, even its face in this election, Surjya Kanta Mishra, lost his seat, Narayangarh.
This means that the Leader of Opposition will be from the Congress. The deserted state CPI(M) headquarters at Alimuddin Street reflected the state of the party in West Bengal.
"Our vote share in West Bengal is similar to the vote share in 2014 general elections. We will study in detail the reasons for the outcome." said CPI(M) Politburo Chairman Sitaram Yechury.
Stringing together its alliance with the Congress, a party it has bitterly fought for decades in the state, the CPI(M) had hoped that the unity of the opposition would help it win more seats against Mamata Banerjee. Mr Bhattacharya had famously shared stage with Rahul Gandhi.
CPI(M) lawmaker Md Salim told NDTV, "Our workers worked wholeheartedly for the alliance and the Congress benefited. However the Congress votes could not be transferred to us."
"This is something which seriously need to be looked into... whether the alliance worked or not. But there are other factors along with it. Is there something else along with the alliance which we missed out perhaps and we need to address that later?" the Congress's Sharmistha Mukherjee said.