Bengal saw the first round of voting on Thursday.
In 2004, the Left had won 10 seats, the Congress the rest. And in this first round, the Left is hoping for big successes since these are seats least affected by the big debate this election - farmland for factory. But the sailing is not smooth.
The southern seats that polled on Thursday are all Left bastions - Purulia, Bankura, Midnapore and Jhargram. But these seats are tribal dominated and Maoist affected. Lalgarh, for instance, had extremely low voter turn out on Friday and that could affect the Left fortunes.
"We were all willing to vote but the arrangements were simply inadequate," said Chhatradhar Mahato, Adivasi Tribal Leader.
There has been an administrative failure in poll arrangements. People do not know where to vote. Also, buses were parked on the main roads - that is why villagers couldn't reach polling booths.
Delimitation may strike the Left a blow. The Congress' stronghold Maldah has been split in to two and both are likely to remain with the opposition party.
So the first phase of elections is crucial for the Left in West Bengal. If the Left slips up on Thursday, it will have a hard time playing catch up in the next two phases.
