Left admits economic model did the trick

The Left leadership has refused to attribute the massive win in West Bengal to any individual but has come around to conceding that it is Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's economic model and reforms that have done the trick.

According to an editorial in the latest issue of the party mouthpiece, People's Democracy, it was the Left vision of industrialisation that had caught people's fancy.

"Growth of the purchasing power in rural Bengal today generates the demand for a new phase of industrialisation. It is this vision of such a new phase of industrialisation advanced by the Left Front which captured the imagination of the people and, hence, this result," the editorial said.

Buddha's campaign had revolved around the slogan of "industrialisation on the foundation of agriculture".

The editorial suggests that the LDF government in Kerala is set to take Buddha's path, notwithstanding that VS Achuthanandan, set to take over the reins of the state, is a "hardliner".

His name was cleared by the CPI(M) Politburo here on Saturday and would be announced after the state committee meeting on Monday.

"Kerala, a state with 100 per cent literacy and the highest human development indices in India, is best poised to embark on a trajectory of economic development based on modern-day advances like in information technology etc," the editorial said.

Achuthanandan is not known to be an IT enthusiast, as was evident from his attack on the UDF government's developmental projects, especially the ambitious Smart City project, during the campaign.

The editorial re-iterated that the results have strengthened the Left, which will now make increasing interventions in government policies and programmes.

"The Left's support to the UPA government at the Centre, from the outside, is based on the implementation of the Common Minimum Programme. This will now have to be taken up in right earnest with the singular objective of improving people's welfare," the editorial said.

The broad contours of the Left's post-election strategy are likely to emerge after the CPI(M) Central Committee meet in Hyderabad from June 8 to 10. The meeting will prepare a report on the basis of discussions at the Kolkata Politburo meeting on May 27-28.