By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal’s ruling Left Front admitted defeat in the polls Saturday and said that the people of the state had taught them a lesson.
“We are accepting the results of this poll. People have taught us a lesson. We will try to analyse why we lost by such margins. We will take up correctional tasks as soon as possible. It’s an unprecedented defeat,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose told reporters here.
Bose said the defeat was due to a pro-Congress wave as the people voted for stability at the centre.
“In the past we saw such waves after Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, but then that wave had not worked in West Bengal. But this time I think it worked,” Bose said.
Giving the Left Front its worst jolt during its 32-year rule, the Trinamool Congress won 19, its alliance partner Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) one and the Congress six of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats.
Bose urged the Left workers and supporters not to fall prey to instigations by the opposition.
“There will be many attacks, instigations in the coming days. I request you all to be aware of this. There was an attack in front of our camp office in Suri. Some two-wheelers and four-wheelers were burnt,” he claimed.
Asked whether the Sachar committee report on the backwardness of Muslims in the state also became a contributory factor, Bose replied: “I can only say that there was a bitter campaign against us on the issue.”