West Bengal left front begins 34th year in power
Routed in a series of elections that have raised questions about its future, West Bengal's Communist-led Left Front government yesterday stepped into the 34th year of its uninterrupted reign.
The 33rd anniversary comes two days after Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) pressed its ministers to speed up development work and implement policies benefiting the poor, large sections of which have moved away from the world's longest serving elected Left government.
Notwithstanding the tough times ahead, the nine-party Front has lined up a slew of programmes to celebrate the anniversary of its stint in power.
The Left Front government took office June 21, 1977, with Jyoti Basu -- then a largely unknown commodity across the country -- as chief minister.
The combine then comprised six parties - Forward Block, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Revolutionary Communist Party of India, Marxist Forward Block and the Biplobi Bangla Congress apart from the CPI-M.
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