More meetings on forming a Third Front

Last Wednesday, leaders of 11 political parties had met and decided to work as one bloc on a "common agenda" in Parliament

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Left party leaders at Janata Dal (Secular) president Deve Gowda’s residence here on Monday. Present were CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI veteran A B Bardhan and Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas. Kumar sought to downplay the meeting, saying, “It was an informal meet of non-Congress, non-BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) parties; we will hold a formal meet soon.”

Gowda said, “The 11 parties (in this loose bloc) will sit together to discuss an agenda after the Parliament session.” Last Wednesday, leaders of 11 parties had met here and decided to work on a “common agenda” in Parliament.

JD(United) chief Sharad Yadav, considered to be playing a key role in formation of this political alternative, had said, “This is the first step after the October 23 meeting. We are aligning non-Congress, non-BJP parties in both Houses.”

The bloc has the four main Left parties, Samajwadi Party, JD (U), AIADMK, Asom Gana Parishad, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, JD (S) and Biju Janata Dal. Together, these parties have 92 seats in this Lok Sabha.

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Telegu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday met Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata to discuss the formation of a federal front. He described the meeting as “positive” and expressed optimism about the federal front securing  the required seats to form the government.

“Discussions are on with various political parties on the formation of the federal front,” Naidu told reporters after the meeting.

The TDP chief who met Banerjee at the new state secretariat 'Nabanna', described the meeting as 'positive' and expressed optimism about the federal front securing required number to form the government after the general election. Naidu, however, did not clarify who would be the constituents of the federal front. Asked to comment on Telangana, he said TDP was opposed to it. Banerjee had given a call to all non-Congress and non-BJP regional parties to come together and form a federal front before the Lok Sabha polls. Naidu's meeting with her took place on a day when Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar and the Left leadership had a breakfast meeting with other leaders in Delhi to discuss the formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP formation for the next Lok Sabha polls. The informal meeting took place at the residence of JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda in which it was decided that leaders of 11 non-Congress and non-BJP parties, who recently came together in Parliament, will hold a formal meeting after the extended winter session was over to give concrete shape to the 'third force'.

On Wednesday, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had taken a dig at this  ‘Third Front’. Speaking in Kolkata, he’d said it would make India a third-rate country.

On Saturday, the JD(U) chief had slammed Modi for his comment. “The manner in which he (Modi) used the word 'third rate' is not done in political discourse. Neither Congress nor BJP is going to come to power (at the Centre). They (BJP) are now shouting from the rooftops. They will remain there," Yadav had said.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has also claimed neither Congress nor BJP would gain a majority in the coming Lok Sabha polls, and the Third Front would form the government at the Centre, and that his party would "play a key role".

Trinamool Congresss leader Mamata Banerjee was not invited to Monday’s meeting. The Telugu Desam and the YSR Congress, both anti-Congress and anti-BJP, also did not attend.