Third Front no easy task, can't be rushed: Karat

Agartala, April 29 (IANS) Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat has said that the formation of a Third Front at the centre is no easy task as some political parties frequently change their allegiance.

"Third alternative front is not an easy task and it cannot be formed hastily. To form the third alternative front, the strength and political base of the CPI-M and Left parties must be strengthened," Karat said, addressing an extended meeting of the CPI-M state committee here Sunday night.

"The third alternative front could be formed on the basis of common policies and programmes. For this, qualitative change in politics is required. There are some political parties frequently changing their side and grouping."

The CPI-M held a two-day meeting here over the weekend to analyse the party's performance, loopholes and other aspects in the Feb 14 polls to the 60-seat Tripura assembly.

The elections saw the CPI-M led Left Front win power for the seventh time and enter office for a fifth consecutive term after securing a landslide victory with 50 of the 60 seats in the assembly.

The main opposition Congress managed only 10 seats.

The CPI-M leader said that the Congress would lose next year's Lok Sabha polls and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) would not gain much. "For this cause, the Left parties must achieve greater strength."

"The combined strength of the regional parties like AIADMK, SP (Samajvadi Party), BJD (Biju Janata Dal) and JD-U (Janata Dal-United) is bigger than Congress and BJP, but in political character, they are all opportunistic," he said.

CPI-M politburo member and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, the party's state secretary and central committee member Bijan Dhar, central committee member Rama Das and 34 leaders from various parts of the state spoke at the two-day meeting.

Sarkar said: "Considering the Left Front government's massive success and developmental works, the Left parties could have got more votes and more seats in the assembly polls. Plugging the organisational loopholes, we must go to the people in a bigger way and bring new people into the party fold."

"The Upajati Gana Mukti Parishad (CPI-M tribal frontal organisation), must be reinforced in its organisational works and change its style of functioning, in keeping with the prevailing political scenario," Sarkar said.

The CPI-M in the recent polls, got one percent less votes compared to the 2008 polls from tribals, who constitute a third of Tripura's 3.7 million population.