Kolkata:
If
Narendra Modi was direct in his criticism of the Left this morning, the party's leaders have been equally taut in their comebacks.
Mr Modi, the 62-year-old chief minister of Gujarat, said in a speech in Kolkata today that the Left's three decades in power imprecated West Bengal with "potholes" which the government is now trying to fill.
(Read: Modi uses Kolkata speech to align with Mamata)"Modi said the Left ruined Bengal in 32 years. Perhaps he said so because there were no riots unlike in Gujarat, " retaliated Nilotpal Basu of the CPI (M).
Mr Modi's statement was seen as an attempt to position himself on the same side of the political divide as
Mamata Banerjee, who won a historic victory in 2011, and displaced the Left.
In September, she quit the Congress-led coalition over the Prime Minister's decision to introduce economic reforms which cleared foreign super-chains like Wal-Mart to sell directly to Indian customers.
Ms Banerjee's politically unattached status is being seen as a large part of the reason for Mr Modi's alignment with her today.
The Gujarat Chief Minister addressed industry lobbies in Kolkata just 24 hours after a similar speech in Delhi. Since his re-election in December, his supporters have been demanding that the BJP announce his nomination for prime minister.
The party has demurred so far, but Mr Modi has been given promotions that will give him a central role as the battle for the national election begins between the BJP and the Congress.
Mr Modi's prime ministerial ambitions, however, could be thwarted by allegations that he deliberately did not check the riots that ripped through his state in 2002, killing 1200 people, most of them Muslims.
Those charges have not been proven in court, but they make Mr Modi an unacceptable national-level leader for important BJP ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.