PTI
 
New Delhi, May 16: Left parties today admitted defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and said it would seriously examine the reasons for their poor performance. 

"CPI-M and Left Parties have suffered a major setback in this election. This necessitates serious examination of the reasons for party's poor performance," CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters with the elections results showing Congress-led UPA set to retain power at the Centre.

The elections to the Lok Sabha have resulted to the victory for Congress and its allies and they will be in a position to form the government, he said in his first reaction.

The Congress parties and its allies have succeeded on the platform they have put forward in these elections, he said and added that the CPI-M Politburo would be meeting on May 18 to analyse the poll debacle.

CPI-M will continue its cooperation with non-congress and non-BJP parties and play the role of opposition with all those parties with which the party has been working with, he said.

Asked about the setback in Kerala and West Bengal, Karat said the party would be in a position to give a complete picture only after Monday's meeting.