Upbeat over its poll successes in West Bengal and Kerala, an aggresive Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday said it will increase pressure on the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition at the Centre, which it supports from outside, to implement the policies mentioned in the Common Minimum Programme.
"We will have increased pressure and influence on the UPA alliance. Naturally, it is bound to increase after the elections results, but only for the better," politbureau member Sitaram Yechury told reporters in New Delhi.
Senior CPI-M leader Nilotpal Basu said the UPA was a minority government enjoying the support of the Left on the basis of its commitment to implement the CMP.
"So if there is any deviation from the CMP, we are legitimately entitled to point it out. We are enriched by our experience of the campaign. Congress is also in the process of learning... It (the election results) could be a more intensive learning process for the government," Basu told NDTV reacting on the election results.
He said the Left was confident of victory, but at the same time cautious.
However, he said, victory was a historic event and did not have any parallel either in the country or internationally.
Basu credited the victory to the leadership of veteran CPI-M leader 93-year-old Jyoti Basu and late Anil Biswas, also noting that Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya led the battle from the front.
