Left-Congress tie-up continues to be relevant: CPI-M

Kolkata, May 19  The Left Front-Congress tie-up continues to be relevant in West Bengal notwithstanding the massive mandate against it, CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said on Thursday.

Addressing media persons after the ruling Trinamool Congress stormed back to power, Mishra admitted the tie-up was not accepted by many.

"We had expected the people will vote for us. But the result shows, that a majority of those who remained silent, voted for the Trinamool. The alliance had its faults," he said.

One of the chief architects of the tie-up, Mishra himself suffered a humiliating defeat failing to retain Narayangarh to Trinamool's Prodyut Kumar Ghosh by a margin of over 13,000 votes.

"Defeat is a defeat," he said, even as he attributed a "tacit understanding" between the Trinamool and the Bharatiya Janata Party behind the ruling party's electoral triumph. 

Asserting the Marxists were not dented by the defeat, Mishra said: "The alliance between the Left and Congress is still relevant."

"We will carry on protesting against the corrupt practices of the Trinamool. We would continue the fight against corruption. Fight for democracy, fight for the rights of the people. Farmers, unemployment will all be our main issues," he said.