New Delhi, May 11
Within hours of winning its traditional bastion of West Bengal and Kerala, the Left’s warning to the Manmohan Singh government was loud and clear — do not take our support for granted and our intervention on policy issues would increase.

This is clearly a matter of concern for the Congress-led coalition as the Communists could apply breaks on the pace of economic reforms and would be more critical on the foreign policy issues too.

An emphatic win for the Communists means Manmohan Singh may now face more challenges to plans for easing restrictions on investment in insurance and retail sector.

Another interesting message that these elections have sounded is that experimentation on the possible third alternative is simmering. May be, it is being tested out at the state level, but the day is not far away when it could be extended on a national scale.

In Tamil Nadu, the Communists have joined hands with DMK and in Assam, they have aligned with the AGP. What is interesting is that the NCP is also part of this alliance in this strategically placed north-eastern state.

The combined strength of the DMK, NCP and the Left parties in Parliament is considerable enough and their coming together could cause worries to the Congress led coalition as it is depended on their support for its survival.

The first remark from the CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat after the party’s stupendous victory clearly hinted the course the Communists would pursue in the coming days.

“The Assembly results have strengthened the role of the Left parties at the national level….We will incease our pressure on the UPA government to implement the pro-people provisions in the CMP,” Karat said.

Even as the Communists gave enough indications that they would not pull down the government, they warned that the UPA itself should be blamed if it fails to implement the agreed programme.

Although the results in West Bengal and Kerala were not unexpected, what was surprising was the number of seats they bagged and the margin of victory.

The Left Front created a record by winning the state for the seventh consequtive term, thus becoming the longest-serving elected Communist government in the world.

Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharya steered the Left Front to a historic landslide victory in West Bengal, claiming 233 of the 294 seats.

The Communists there traditionally focused on land reform and empowering poor peasants. However, this time, they changed tack over the past five years and actively wooed private capital and investment, earning the goodwill of urban voters as well.

The CPM-led LDF dealt a severe blow to the Congress-led UDF in Kerala, winning 98 seats in the 140-member Assembly.

In Tamil Nadu, the Communists won 16 seats and in Assam they made small but significant inroads.

But, the Left themselves have to set their house in order in Kerala where Communist veteran V.S. Achuthanandan is being seen as the hero of LDF’s sweeping win in Kerala.

Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing assembly, V S (as he is popularly known) was not even allowed to contest the polls. But, the public outcry forced the party’s central leadership to buckle under pressure, and the 82-year-old surprised friends and critics by emerging as a folk hero of the Left.

His rival and state CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan cannot be ignored even after the thumping victory of the Communists in the Southern state.