From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 11:32 PM IST

West Bengal's ruling Left Front, which suffered a debacle in 13 out of 16 municipalities in the state Wednesday, promised to initiate pro-people development activities to regain public confidence.

In a statement, it said that the Left combine had failed to fulfil the aspirations of the common people in many areas. Thus, the people's verdict went against them in the civic body elections.

'We'll soon start working towards fulfilling the demands and aspirations of the common people and will also undertake developmental activities keeping in mind their interests.

'We'll carry out both political and administration activities in the state, taking a lesson from this defeat,' it said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)