The much-touted Third Front rally at Tumkur in Karnataka had no representation from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), even though the leaders there claimed the support of four Left parties. An infuriated Abani Roy of the RSP apparently decided to stay away over the unseemly tussle between the CPI(M) and CPI over the Ponnani seat in Kerala. While he is not against reaching out to other parties, he decided to stay away from the Tumkur rally at the last minute as Roy felt the Left should first resolve its own internal problems. Incidentally, CPI(M) mouthpiece People’s Democracy did not even call the Tumkur gathering a “Third Front”, referring to it as an “alternative secular combination” instead.