By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal’s ruling Left Front faces a tough battle in the Lok Sabha polls but will still win a majority of the state’s 42 states, Marxist leader Prakash Karat said Tuesday.
“My party’s assessment is that we’ll have a tough battle in this election,” the general secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said at an interaction at the Kolkata Press Club.
“One reason is the alliance between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress,” he said.
He, however, said the CPI-M-led Left Front had faced similar situations in the past, even in the absence of formal alliances.
The Trinamool and Congress will contest in 27 and 14 constituencies respectively. The Trinamool ally, the Socialist Unity Centre of India, is fighting the remaining seat.
But Karat said he was hopeful of a favourable result. “We will get a decisive majority in West Bengal.”
Asked if the violence in Nandigram — following takeover of farm land for industry — could be a potent issue, he said: “I don’t think the elections will be decided on only one issue.”
He said Lok Sabha elections were determined by a mix of national issues, the central government’s record and its policies as well as state issues.
Polling in West Bengal will be held April 30, May 7 and May 13.