<div>Communist Party of India (CPI) today conceded that the West Bengal Assembly poll verdict was a "setback" to the Left parties and the state, and that their electoral alliance with the Congress did not work.<br /><br />"I think this understanding between the Left and the Congress did not work. We could together get only 35-36 per cent of votes. Somehow, I think the votes might not have got transferred," CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told PTI here.<br /><br />He said the Assembly poll results were "negative result". "We have to go for a serious review...why, in spite of a joint effort, it did not give confidence to the people of West Bengal to bring the alternative despite misrule, corruption and arrogance of Mamata Banerjee. We feel it's a negative result and setback to Left and West Bengal," he said.<br /><br />He said the electoral understanding between the Left and Congress was a "limited understanding" with a limited purpose to defeat Mamata Banerjee, who today returned to power with a thumping majority.<br />"That's what we tried but it did not work," Reddy said.<br /><br />However, asked if he thought it was a mistake to join hands with the Congress, he said he did not think so.<br /><br />"I can't come to such a conclusion immediately. We have to discuss as to what went wrong. I am not ready to rush to a conclusion that it was a political mistake. It did not work. Why it did not work, we have to review," Reddy said. <br /></div>
<div>Communist Party of India (CPI) today conceded that the West Bengal Assembly poll verdict was a "setback" to the Left parties and the state, and that their electoral alliance with the Congress did not work.<br /><br />"I think this understanding between the Left and the Congress did not work. We could together get only 35-36 per cent of votes. Somehow, I think the votes might not have got transferred," CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told PTI here.<br /><br />He said the Assembly poll results were "negative result". "We have to go for a serious review...why, in spite of a joint effort, it did not give confidence to the people of West Bengal to bring the alternative despite misrule, corruption and arrogance of Mamata Banerjee. We feel it's a negative result and setback to Left and West Bengal," he said.<br /><br />He said the electoral understanding between the Left and Congress was a "limited understanding" with a limited purpose to defeat Mamata Banerjee, who today returned to power with a thumping majority.<br />"That's what we tried but it did not work," Reddy said.<br /><br />However, asked if he thought it was a mistake to join hands with the Congress, he said he did not think so.<br /><br />"I can't come to such a conclusion immediately. We have to discuss as to what went wrong. I am not ready to rush to a conclusion that it was a political mistake. It did not work. Why it did not work, we have to review," Reddy said. <br /></div>