Kolkata: A Minister of the Left Front government in West Bengal has openly favoured early elections to the State Assembly following the setback that the ruling Left Front suffered in the recent by-elections. There is already an opinion within the rling CPI(M) that the winds are against the ruling party consistently, and the better thing would be to call for early elections to the state assembly and try to get a mandate. The counter-opinion within in the CPM is to wait it out and hope that Mamta Banerjee or her party, the Trinamool Congress, makes a mistake which would give them a fighting chance in an election.
Minister for Fisheries Kironmoy Nanda, who belongs to the West Bengal Socialist Party, a constituent of the Left Front, told reporters that the verdict of the people is obviously against the ruling coalition and that seeking a fresh mandate is essential.
The Bengal Socialist Party has 4 MLAs in the State Assembly.
Nanda said in no uncertain terms that “we need to accept the debacle and go for early elections to seek the people’s mandate.” In fact, he stressed, this should have been done “right after the Lok Sabha elections in 2009.”
He said that it is better for the Left Front to sit in the Opposition if it lacks the support of the people of the West Bengal.
