A day after the Left Front’s Assembly bypoll humiliation, a veteran minister in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s cabinet echoed Mamata Banerjee’s demand for the Chief Minister’s resignation, followed by early elections.

In an extraordinary attack on his own government, Fisheries Minister Kiranmoy Nanda said, “After the results of the Lok Sabha elections and the bypolls, the government has no option but to quit. If the Left Front wants to be in office, it should seek a fresh mandate.”

Nanda has been a minister for the past 27 years. His Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) is a constituent of the Left Front, and has four MLAs in the House of 294. All DSP seats are in the restive East Midnapore district. Nanda represents Mugberia constituency, where the Trinamool Congress secured a lead of over 22,000 votes in the Lok Sabha elections this summer.

Nanda’s statement triggered speculation that he — and perhaps several others — have sensed the winds of change and begun to reach out to Mamata. About a fortnight ago, Nanda had taken on Bhattacharjee directly, objecting to the allotment of land to a private educational institution, allegedly in violation of wetland norms. His Department had moved court seeking an injunction on construction on the land.

There were unconfirmed reports today that Bhattacharjee had expressed a desire to step down, and the CPM was discussing bringing the Assembly elections forward.

Shyamal Chakraborty, CPM central committee member and CITU state president, denied all such reports. “There is no precedent of any party quitting the government following bad results in Lok Sabha polls,” he said.

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