Admitting that a section of party leaders and workers were straying, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today said all party members would have to strictly adhere to Marxist ideals and values.

"The party can achieve the goal of rectifying errors only by indulging itself in class and mass struggle," Karat said on the first day of the two-day CPI(M) West Bengal state committee meeting here.

"The rectification programme of 1996-97 has not been totally successful and spread of negative class values in the party has only become deep rooted," the CPI(M) general secretary said.

Explaining before the state committee the party central committee's programme to purge the party of bad elements, Karat claimed that liberalisation of the country's economy has led to the spread of market-oriented capitalistic values.

"Influence of money has greatly affected the political scenario in the country," he said, adding the ill effects of this is being reflected in the CPI(M) also.

Criticising the youth of the party, Karat said, "There is lack of idealistic and political standards among the newcomers in the party."

The CPI-M in West Bengal has been experiencing electoral debacles since panchayat elections in 2008 and has decided to take up a rectification programme, which was earlier adopted by the party's politburo and central committee, in order to arrest the slide.

In a bid to regain the confidence of the rural masses, which was highly eroded due to several reasons including land acquisition and arrogance of a section of party leaders and workers, the party also decided to go back to the basics.

"Special stress has to be given to the needs of poor farmers, agricultural labourers, adivasis, dalits, minorities, women and unorganised sector workers," Karat told the meeting, attended by Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, party state secretary Biman Bose among others.

Karat said the over-dependence on Parliamentary system has affected the party's mass campaigns.

Earlier, senior CPI-M leader Nirupam Sen said after the meeting's morning session that result of elections had no connection with the party's decision to undertake a purge of bad elements which, he asserted, is a regular process in the communist parties worldwide.

All communist parties followed the process through discussion within the party to rectify shortcomings, Sen told reporters.