The CPM-led Left Front is already feeling the poll heat and fear of another poll debacle within a gap of five months is throwing the party cadres in tizzy. As voters in the 10 Assembly constituencies prepare to elect their nominees on Saturday in the bypolls, there are predictions in the Opposition camp that all the seats will be bagged by the Trinamool and Congress.

The Left may end up retaining just the Kalchini constituency, which it had won in 2006 by a margin of nearly 5,000 votes. The party is lagging behind in Belgachhia East Assembly constituency where it has fielded Ramola Chakraborty, wife of late sports and transport minister Subhas Chakraborty. The death of the veteran leader had necessitated the bypolls.

During the 2006 Assembly polls, the Left Front had registered victory in the three seats, Congress in two and Trinamool in five. (see box) But it was when the contest was triangular. This time, with Trinamool and the Congress joining hands, the Left Front is facing a one-to-one contest. The vote is also important for the Trinamool because the party feels that the “wave of change” still persists in Bengal which is necessary for the big fight in 2011. The ruling party, on the other hand, fears further erosion in its votebank following recent spell of violence, especially in south Bengal, known as Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold. Of the 10 seats, four fall in North Bengal and the rest in South Bengal.

The results of the Lok Sabha polls, where the Left Front suffered its worst electoral debacle in decades, have only encouraged the Opposition to unite.

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