Despite poll drubbing, Congress and CPI(M) to continue their alliance in West Bengal

Despite suffering humiliating reverses in the just-concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal, leaders of the Congress and the CPI-M on Monday asserted that their alliance will continue in the state.

"We have formed an alliance not for this election only. The alliance will continue in the days to come. We will fight unitedly in future too," state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said. He was accompanied by CPI-M state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra.

Mishra on his part said, "We will continue with the people's alliance. We all have to fight unitedly against terror unleashed by the TMC. The TMC is trying to eliminate the Opposition in Bengal and we all have to fight unitedly against it."

The leaders were speaking to reporters after the CPI-M-led Left Front and the Congress jointly paid a visit to state Governor K N Tripathi. The two parties also submitted a memorandum over the "post-poll violence" across the state.

Asked if the Congress and the CPI-M would attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Mamata Banerjee government, both Mishra and Chowdhury said, "The kind of situation that is prevailing in the state - attack on Opposition workers - is not conducive for attending any kind of ceremony. We are yet to receive any kind of invitation, though. We may not attend the ceremony."

The much-touted alliance managed to bag only 76 seats in the Assembly election whereas the TMC won an overwhelming 211 seats in the 294-member House.