Emergence of third front not an easy task: Karat

Says regional parties are 'opportunists' and would either side with Congress or BJP

Ruling out the possibility of a third front emerging, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said it was not an easy task as regional parties were "opportunists" and would either side with Congress or BJP.

"It is not an easy task because the regional parties like AIADMK, SP, BJD, JDU are also opportunists and will either side with Congress or BJP," Karat said while addressing an state committee meeting of the party here last evening.

Karat said that the BJP wanted to return to power by using people's grievances, but the character of Congress and BJP were the same as both were advocates of neo liberal policies.

Alleging that the UPA government was corrupt, he said that the prices of essential commodities have sky rocketed, unemployment has became a serious problem and the economic crisis has deepened due to a liberal economy.

"So, it seems that Congress will be defeated in the next general elections due in 2014, but BJP will also not be benefited much," he said.

"So, the Left parties will have to consolidate and expand its political base for providing any alternative to the Congress and BJP in future," he said.

Karat said, after the debacle in elections in Kerala and West Bengal, the massive mandate of the people in Tripura in February this year has again proved that the Left Front has relevance in national politics.