Responding to queries from the media at a meeting organised by the Kolkata Press Club before the panchayat elections, Bhattacharjee said that he did not want to denigrate the Prime Minister and had high regards for him, but he has failed in his duties as Prime Minister especially in controlling the inflation and prices of essential commodities.
He also said that the Congress-led UPA government had failed on the economic front and so the CPI(M) had decided that it would try and form a third alternative.
When asked about the strategy for the state elections, he said, it was too early to comment and that the CPI(M) would take a call after the next Parliament elections.