Expressing happiness about the outcome of the civic poll results in West Bengal, CPI(M) today said it has been able to arrest the decline of the voting percentage of the Left Front.
CPI(M) also said that the bandh called by Left Front and allied parties against manipulations in the civic elections in the state is a success.
"The whole objective is to arrest the decline of the voting percentage of the party and then restore and rebuild. We are happy to note that for the first time since 2009 Parliament elections, the voting percentage of CPI(M) and the Left Front has not declined," CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters here.
He said since 2009 Lok Sabha elections, followed by 2010 municipal elections, 2011 Assembly elections, 2012-13 panchayat elections, there was steady decline of the votes polled by the CPI(M) and LF.
"For the first time, this has been arrested and in fact there has been a marginal increase of our vote percentage," he said.
On the strategy of the party in Parliament, Yechury said the party will continue to oppose anti-people legislations in the House.
He took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not giving a statement in the House on his foreign visit, recalling Modi used to call former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 'maun' Mohan, "who remained silent in India and speaks only when abroad".
"We thought PM will make a statement on his foreign visit but that did not happen. But I am glad that it did not happen because former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not present in the House today.
"We wish that PM make statements when Singh is present about whom he had said during the election campaign that Dr Singh is 'maun Mohan Singh' who remained silent in India and speaks only when abroad. It will be interesting to watch when PM makes speech in the presence of Singh," he said.
CPI(M) leader Mohd Saleem said the bandh call got massive response despite the government's repressive measures.
