NEW DELHI: With political observers stating that the main political parties — Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP — not being able to secure as many seats as they did in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and parties like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) faring better than expected the focus is now shifting on the left parties-led Third Front.

The left bloc is fairly confident that the next government would not be headed either by the Congress or the BJP. If as analysts indicate, both the parties fall short of even winning the number of seats they did in 2004, the prospects of a Third Front forming the next government is becoming stronger.

In 2004, Congress emerged as the single largest party winning 145 seats of the 543-elected seats in Lok Sabha, while the BJP won 138. Dismissing the prospects of BJP taking the lead, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat also ruled out prospects of the left bloc providing external support to a Congress-led government as they did in 2004.

Dismal performance of the two parties will lead to more parties join the Third Front, Karat said. “We expect a realignment of forces after the elections. I am saying parties which are not with us now will come to us,” he said.

On the prospects of left parties being compelled to support the Congress-led coalition to keep BJP out, he said: “We don’t have to be palanquin-bearers for anyone. There is no danger of BJP coming to power at the center this time. The choice will be a non-Congress secular government or a Congress-led government. I don’t think the BJP is going to be in the picture.”

Interestingly, both the Congress and BJP leaders hold the same view on left bloc’s stand regarding the Third Front. “If a government is formed, it will always be either BJP-led or Congress-led,” BJP leader L.K. Advani said while addressing a rally in West Bengal.

Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee too is confident that his party would not need the left support to form the government. “I am certain the Congress will win enough seats in this election to keep such surmises at bay,” he said during a campaign address.

“Our detractors may not like it but let me put on record, Manmohan Singh is going to be the next prime minister of India,” he said.