Kolkata, March 16 Accusing the Election Commission of failing to create an error-free voter list in West Bengal, the CPI(M) said on Monday that it will file a lawsuit to ensure that the 60 lakh people currently undergoing the ongoing Systematic Identification of Voters (SIV) exercise are "not left without a voice."
Speaking after the Left Front announced its first list of candidates for the assembly elections, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim expressed optimism about the party's chances in the polls scheduled for April 23 and 29.
"The Election Commission has failed in its basic task of creating an error-free voter list," the CPI(M) leader claimed.
"The CPI(M) will file a lawsuit to ensure that the 60 lakh people 'under adjudication' are not left without a voice," he told reporters.
Salim said the party will ensure that people undergoing adjudication have the right to vote and participate in elections, if they choose to do so.
Drawing a parallel with the ongoing situation in West Asia, he said, "Just as the USA and Israel are isolated in the world today, even as Iran and Palestine are gaining more friends and allies, the Left Front will also regain its support base."
He asserted that a new Left Front government will fill all job vacancies, make contract jobs permanent, and provide full benefits to civic volunteers and ASHA workers.
The Front announced candidates in 192 constituencies for the 294-seat assembly elections in West Bengal on Monday.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front ruled the state for an uninterrupted 34 years until 2011, when it was defeated by Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
However, the Front drew a blank in the 2021 assembly elections, as well as in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state.