Softening voice against EC Left Front appeals to people

Kolkata, Apr 10 (UNI) Seeking to turn into its favour the strict-measures of the announced by the EC and the opposition kudos, for it, the ruling Left Front in West Bengal today said the alliance was into a wholehog campaigning for Assembly elections appealing to the ''people's court.'' ''Ms. Banerjee has claimed that the EC is in her party's favour.

But the Commission is not supposed to favour anybody. The people's court is the highest court and they will teach a lesson to those who are talking this,'' Left Front Committee Chairman Biman Bose today said.

The comments of Mr Bose came a few days after Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee welcomed the strict EC measures caliming the decision to hold a five-phase polling in the state was taken following her request.

Recently, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley also supported the raid on CPI(M) office at Keshpur and observed that elections in the state would be different this time if all measures were properly implemented.

Talking to reporters after a Front meeting, Mr.Bose, however, treaded cautious on the Commission's directives and said the meeting decided to abide by all the new rules and norms of the EC.

''Our workers have to realise and also make understand the voters that what had been the practice in the last 13 Lok Sabha elections will not be applicable this time,'' he said.

Though the CPI(M)-led Front had been fighting a battle of attrition with the EC over various measures, introduced for the first time in the coming elections, Mr.Bose made a significant departure from his earlier stand when he had appealed to the Commission to be 'impartial and fair'.

The Front Chairman had earlier said the Left activists were going door to door apprising the people who were behind 'obstructing' a free and fair polling in the state.

''What the voters feel about the EC measures will be known after the elections,'' he said in reply to a question.

A string of EC decisions, including five-phase polling, for the first time in the state, restrictions on the mode of campaigning, deletion of a large number of names from the electoral rolls and action against Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty has evoked the Front's ire.

Alleging that the observers were being guided by 'baseless' charges of the opposition Trinamool Congress, the Front leaders, including Mr Jyoti Basu criticised the EC.

Mr Bose said during today's meeting the Front partners took stock of the progress in election campaign and chalked out further programmes.

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