From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 01:01 AM IST

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Wednesday claimed that

veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu did not vote in the Lok Sabha elections because he had lost confidence in his successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's government.

'Even Jyoti Basu does not have confidence in Buddhababu. Otherwise he would have definitely voted. If needed, he could even have gone in a wheel chair,' Banerjee told the media.

Banerjee's remarks prompted Basu to issue a statement: 'I don't want to react to such comments. I have been in politics for long. My party is my life. I want the Left Front to win the elections.'

Basu's personal assistant Joy Krishna Ghosh said the 95-year-old leader injured his left leg after he fell in the bathroom in the wee hours Wednesday and thus could not vote.

Ghosh had said two days ago that Basu was unlikely to vote due to his frail health.

This was the first time in 63 years that Basu did not exercise his franchise.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)