Will have to wait and watch: Patnaik on Third Front

Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat dismisses idea of Third Front, saying several previous attempts have failed

 

Against the backdrop of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav raising the issue of a Third Front, BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said he is watching the situation as it develops before taking a call on it.

Asked about his views on the formation of a Third Front, Patnaik said, "We will have to wait and watch and see how these matters progress."

Patnaik was here to meet Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat to discuss the hurdles in the Polavaram project and other water-related issues.

Yadav has floated the idea of a Third Front again, apparently with an eye on the general elections slated for 2014. BJD had moved away from NDA before the Assembly polls in Odisha in 2009.

Rawat dismissed the idea of a Third Front, saying several attempts have been made to form such a coalition in the past but these have had "premature abortions".

He said Mulayam Singh Yadav may be making such statements but he is still supporting the UPA government from outside and will continue to do so to protect secularism and provide stability.

Rawat said Yadav's praise for senior BJP leader L K Advani may have come due to their old ties when both were associated with the V P Singh government in 1989.

He expressed confidence that Yadav will be with UPA after the 2014 polls as well.