NEW DELHI: A grouping of Indian political parties yesterday launched what they hope will be “Third Front” in general elections next month.
The coalition of left-leaning and regional parties is designed to confront the ruling Congress party and opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the elections.
“Today we have come together because the country needs a new alternative,” Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat told the large crowd in the town of Dobbespet, 50 kilometers from Bangalore.
“The future of this country does not lie with Congress or the BJP,” said Karat, adding that high unemployment, rising prices and continuing suicides by farmers meant the two main national parties had “failed to fulfill the aspirations of the people.”
“We represent the diversity of India. We want a federal state. We are against centralization of powers in Delhi. All states should have adequate power,” Karat said.
The alliance, led by former Premier Deve Gowda, comprises communists and parties representing lower-caste Indians, as well as regional parties from the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Not all party representatives present at the rally confirmed their participation in a formal alliance and the coalition has yet to announce a campaign platform or official candidate for prime minister.
In New Delhi, Congress spokeswoman Jayanti Natarajan dismissed the Third Front’s potential to make an impact.
“At this point in time the Third Front does not even exist. They haven’t even formed it,” she told the Times Now news channel.
“Definitely, they are not a threat to the UPA (United Progressive Alliance). UPA alliance is intact,” Congress Working Committee member V. Narayanasamy said. “The new alliance is only for power. They don't have any policies and programs. The alliance will not continue for long,” Narayanasamy, who is also the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee, said.
The BJP also said the new grouping did not pose a political threat. “The alliance will end as the parties will go either with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or UPA after the elections,” BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said.
On the role that the new alliance can play in the polls, he said: “These parties will not have any role in the elections. It will be a direct fight between the NDA and the UPA.”
