Kolkata:
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has said that the biggest Left party, the CPM, could be part of an alternate government.
"If we can play a determining role in making the economic and foreign policies of the new alternative government only then will we be a part of it," said Bhattacharya.
Till now, both Buddhadeb and party general secretary Prakash Karat had hinted at this.
In the past, the CPM's stand has been that it would never be part of a government unless it had the numbers to influence policy.
For that reason, it had refused to allow Jyoti Basu to become Prime Minister, something he later called a historic blunder, which is why Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's statement on Monday morning, just days before an expected hung parliament is so important.
Of course, a final decision will be taken by the CPM's Central Committee.