Kolkata:
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee resigned as Chief Minister of West Bengal this afternoon after two consecutive terms in office.
The CPM-led ruling Left Front was obliterated in the state elections by Mamata Banerjee whose party, the Trinamool Congress, fought the elections in partnership with the Congress.
Mr Bhattacharjee replaced Jyoti Basu as Chief Minister in 2001. Mr Basu had been Bengal's Chief Minister since 1977.
In Kolkata, the CPM state secretariat met to review the party's electoral disaster.
All 17 secretariat members were present at the meeting which was presided over by the CPM's state secretary Biman Bose.