CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat has denied having told eminent British Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm that his party is expected to do "very badly" in West Bengal in the assembly elections next year.

Tension prevailed in Nalgonda town of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, as policemen resorted to cane charging, to quell a group of pro-Telangana activists who pelted stones on the vehicle of CPI(M) MLA J Ranga Reddy who escaped unhurt.

Supporting a joint operation against Maoists, CPI (M) said on Tuesday that the ultras should also be defeated politically to demolish their support base among the tribal population.

Maoists have killed a kidnapped CPI-M leader suspecting him to be a police informer in Sundergarh district of Orissa, police said on Sunday.

A sea of humanity on Tuesday bade a solemn farewell to the legendary Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, who was given a state funeral with military honours after leaders across the political spectrum paid homage to one of the tallest leaders of the Communist movement in India.

Former chief minister Jyoti Basu's body will be taken from funeral parlour 'Peace Haven' on Tuesday morning to the state secretariat, Assembly and the party headquarters before its final journey to the SSKM hospital where it will be handed over to the authorities there.

President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, PM Manmohan Singh and many politicians on Sunday condoled the death of former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and said the nation has lost an eminent statesman.

As a young barrister who embraced Communism, Jyoti Basu showed remarkable pragmatism in a dogmatic party that prevented him from becoming Prime Minister at the height of coalition politics.

Jyoti Basu, who strode the political arena like a colossus for over six decades, died in Kolkata on Sunday of multi-organ failure after being struck by pneumonia 17 days ago.

The condition of 95-year-old CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu today turned "very critical" and he was showing signs of multi-organ failure, his personal physician Dr A K Maity said.

The condition of former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who is suffering from acute pneumonia, "marginally improved" today, a close aide of his said quoting doctors.

The CBI Special Court in on Monday dismissed a petition filed by CPI-M Kerala secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, an accused in the Rs 100-crore graft case, seeking a direction to CBI to examine Union Defence Minister A K Antony in the case.

A CPI(M) leader was shot dead by suspected Maoists at Barikul in Purulia on Saturday.

Amidst an uproar over the Ruchika molestation issue, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said the entire case against former DGP S P S Rathore should be revisited.

Two CPI-M workers were killed allegedly by Maoists, who also abducted two policemen from West Midnapore district on Sunday, police said.

Suspected Maoists shot dead three CPI-M workers at Sebaytan village in West Midnapore district in the small hours on Thursday.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is facing flak for a string of electoral defeats of CPI-M, today found support from former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who said there was no need for him to step down.

Left leaders today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and presented him "evidence" of the "nexus" between Maoists and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, charging the latter with using violence to expand their political base in the state.

A five-day shutdown has been called by pro-Maoist group, People's Committee against Police Atrocities, in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura districts from today to protest alleged atrocities against villagers by the joint forces.

Suspected Maoists shot dead a CPI-M leader and village head of Salboni Gram Panchayat and dumped his body on the state highway near Jhargram today.

One person was killed and six others including two policemen injured in a turf-war between activists of CPI-M and Trinamool Congress here today, police said.

Cracks in the ruling Left Front widened on Thursday on the issue of advancing of 2011 Assembly elections in West Bengal as demanded by a minor partner following repeated electoral reverses, with major allies saying the issue should be discussed and lead partner CPI-M virtually rejecting the idea.

Welcoming the return of a section of Naxalites to main stream politics, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee today said the role reversal would strengthen the democratic system in the country.

Hours before Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's visit to Midnapore on Saturday, three youths were shot dead by Maoists in Kusbani jungle in the district.

The CPI-M on Saturday asked Home Minister P Chidambaram not to make "irrelevant feints" against it on the Maoist issue but take initiative to sort out the "glaring contradiction" within the Union Cabinet on it.