'Paribortan' finds an echo in CPI(M)'s reaction to WB defeat

New Delhi, May 13: ''Paribortan'' -- the poll plank of Trinamool Congress -- found an echo today (May 13) in the words of senior CPI(M) leaders who said the people of West Bengal have voted for "change" and Mamata Banerjee has benefitted from it.

As Banerjee's party rode an anti-Left wave trouncing the CPI(M)-led Left Front from power, party Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said his party would analyse the reasons for the defeat in elections after ruling the state for a record 34 years.

"After a record of 34 years in office and seven consecutive victories in elections, the Left Front has been defeated. We accept the defeat. We accept the verdict of the people," he told reporters here.

"Vahan pe janta mein parivartan ka aasha rahi. Uska fayada Trinamool ko mila hai. (People had hoped for a change there the benefit of which was reaped by Trinamool)," Yechury said.

Another Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat also echoed Yechury and said that the results showed that people wanted change. She was responding to a question whether the Bengal leaders were responsible for the party's rout in the state.

"We accept the results with humility. We will be a responsible opposition in the state," she said.

Yechury said the Left rule has ensured "big gains" for the state and the Front will defend these. He also appealed to people in the state to maintain peace and calm.

"After the Lok Sabha elections, there was a spate of violence against Left cadre. We appeal to people to maintain calm and peace," he said.

He said the election results from Kerala showed that it was one of the closest fights in the history of the state.

Karat Yechury said the results from Tamil Nadu showed that it was a vote against corruption while Congress gained in Assam due to "fragmentation" of opposition in the state.

PTI