After fighting the Left front and the Congress in the West Bengal civic polls, Trinamool Congress has expressed the hope that a tie up with the Congress for the state Assembly polls works out while making it clear that it was "very much" part of the UPA.
"....I am sure in the Assembly, things are quite open and we are very much part of the UPA government and I am sure things will work out," senior Trinamool Congress leader and minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi said.
"I think that the sense will prevail upon everyone. Congress is a national party and will see reasons," he told Karan Thapar during CNBC TV 18's 'India Tonight' programme when asked whether his party would still need Congress support in the Assembly elections.
Trivedi said the "writing was already on the wall" and people want a "massive change".
"People out on the streets and we are on the ground. They are just waiting for a massive change and to throw out the CPI(M) and bring in a new government," he said referring to the results of the civic elections.
However, CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said that civil polls only constitute 17% of the voters and "all the elections we are talking about are different ball games".
Though trends "definitely indicate erosion of our support base but this is just 17% of the electorate," he said.
"Bulk of the feeling was certainly against elements within the Left Front," he said.
He also accepted that there was "very" high degree of anti-incumbency and there were issues in terms of governance but said the Left Front government is aware of that and taking steps to correct them.
On the Trinamool chief's demand for early elections in the state, Trivedi said the ruling alliance has lost the confidence of the people of the state, underlining that "15% of the electorate was a huge sample cutting across the board."
Yechury, however, objected to the assertion and said, "we have been given the right by the people to rule for five years...demanding early elections is neither democratic nor a fair play."
