Karat bats for Third Front, dismisses Modi 'wave'

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat Saturday batted forcefully for a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre while discounting any "wave" in favour of BJP leader Narendra Modi.

"The 11 parties that we brought together have not allied with either the Congress or the BJP. Depending on the results of the (Lok Sabha) polls, we will be able to bring them together," Karat said.

He was speaking at the Indian Women's Press Corps on Ashoka Road here.

He also said a Third Front government coming to power was "very much a possibility which we will explore post elections."

February 25, the CPI-M organised a meeting of representatives of 11 regional parties in Delhi, including the Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal-United to signal its intention of putting together what is usually termed as a Third Front.

Admitting there was a "strong anti-Congress" trend visible in the country, he contended it was being "misinterpreted as a wave in favour of Narendra Modi".

According to him, the said "trend" will benefit the BJP where the contest is between the two main national parties. But he claimed this may not be the case in states where other regional parties have a strong presence.

On the issue of whether a Third Front government could be stable, he said "hopefully some lessons have been learnt from past experiences".

He also said it will not be possible for such a combination to come to power "unless the Congress takes a positive approach to it".

Clarifying on the party's stand towards whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) can be part of the Third Front, he said: "AAP has to decide. We consider them to be a non-Congress, non-BJP party."

Attempting to dispel the fear reportedly expressed by the Congress that the Left will have too much of a say in any Third Front formation, Karat said they "did not have that much strength. We will not have the leading role."

Karat also defended the Samajwadi Party's record on communalism by claiming the party "played a big role in fighting majoritarian communalism in the late 80s and early 90s".

However, when the issue of communally tinged speeches by leaders during the ongoing poll campaign was raised, he said "all non-Left parties have failings in their secular character. Their secularism is only to a certain degree."