Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said the “demise” of political parties from the Left would be a disaster for India, PTI reported.

“We are going to fight the Left, and we are political rivals”, Ramesh said in Thiruvananthapuram in his keynote address at the birth centenary celebration of iconic architect Laurie Baker. “But I would say that India cannot afford the demise of the Left”.

The Left wing, too, should change and attempt to understand people’s aspirations, the Congress leader added. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) suffered a setback in the Tripura Assembly elections, losing after 25 years – it was reduced to 16 seats from 50 in the 2013 elections. The Left is now in power only in Kerala.