Ahead of polls, Left Front suffers coalition blues

"The SP's departure signifies all is not well within the Front, which has been trying hard to revive its electoral fortunes. With just a few days to go for the polls, it has come at a bad time," said Jana of Midnapore's Vidyasagar University.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool, which prides itself for its grassroots politics with "Maa, Mati Manush" (Mother, People, Soil) as its slogan, has come in for sharp criticism over its decision to field celebrities for the Lok Sabha polls.

With the likes of Bengali actor Moon Moon Sen and soccer icon Baichung Bhutia, Banerjee rolled out a star-filled list of candidates, including people from apolitical backgrounds.

While veteran Congress leader Somen Mitra asked whether these celebrities will be able to spare time for the people leaving behind their respective fields, the party's state unit president, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, questioned the lack of politicos in the list.