Marxist party aims to extend its power as West Bengal votes in general election
A Marxist party which has ruled 90 million people for 27 years stands on the verge of extending its influence in Indian national politics.
Left Front has not only won six successive provincial elections in the eastern state of West Bengal but has increased its seats in the national parliament since first tasting power in 1977.
In the 2001 state elections, an astounding majority helped Left Front retain power for another five years, making it the world's longest surviving democratically elected government.
Today, as India's red state goes to the polls in the last lap of staggered general elections, there are no doubts about who will bag the majority of West Bengal's 42 parliamentary seats. The party already has 29 seats and many observers believe it can increase its tally.
While Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi spent weeks campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress respectively, neither spent more than a few hours in Bengal.
