Reacting to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's remarks on early West Bengal Assembly elections, the State unit of the Congress on Friday said even though all constitutional provisions must be adhered to, the Left Front government should quit if it loses in a majority of the civic bodies.
"The Left Front government should have quit at the time of the Lok Sabha elections itself. They have lost the moral right to be in power; it is surprising that they have not done so," said Pradip Bhattacharya, working president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC).
Even if it is a three-way contest, the Left parties are sure to fare poorly in the upcoming elections. Should that happen, they should quit the government and ask for early elections, he said.
At the release of the Trinamool Congress election manifesto for the upcoming civic elections on Thursday, Ms. Banerjee had said that her party would demand elections if it manages a majority and it was her calculation that the Left Front government will be shown the door in October this year.
Confident that his party was prepared to go to polls if elections were held in October, Mr. Bhattacharya said every political party had the right to demand elections but it should be done keeping all Constitutional provisions in mind.
"The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government is losing ground in West Bengal. Anyone can demand that polls be held in the State," said Manas Bhunia, leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the West Bengal Assembly.
Source: The Hindu Congress ready for polls in October
