Left parties were decimated in the Lok Sabha 16 05 2014 Left parties were decimated in the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal which they had once ruled continuously for 34 years, with CPI(M) alleging “massive rigging” by Trinamool Congress. “We are not prepared to accept this result as it does not reflect the actual position, the strength and support of the Left parties. We cannot accept it as our percentage of votes has fallen from 41 per cent in the 2009 elections to 28-30 per cent,” said CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters in New Delhi. While the Left in Kerala made “major gains” and increased margins in Tripura, he said “we place West Bengal in an exceptional situation where the Election Commission has failed to intervene to rectify the situation from the third to the fifth round of elections when 32 of the 42 seats went to polls. And this was despite complaints by all parties opposing the TMC, including BJP and Congr...