Don't see a Third Front before polls, says Karat

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat does not see the possibility of a third front of non-Congress, non-BJP parties emerging before the Lok Sabha polls, due in a little over a year from now.

"We don't see any third alternative or front emerging before the elections. We don't think that is feasible. Of course, we would like to see non-Congress, non-BJP parties including the Left strengthen and do well in the elections. But we are not thinking in terms of formation or projecting any third alternative in the Lok Sabha elections," Karat told The Indian Express.

He did not, however, rule out the possibility of his party playing a role in the post-poll scenario in the event of a fractured verdict.

The CPM's last attempt, in 2009, to forge a third front did not appeal to voters, and the party later conceded that the Left should not have called for an "alternative secular government" in the situation that prevailed before the elections.

"It is not a question of parties and leaders coming together," Karat said on Friday. "Unless there is a common understanding on policies... Our experience is that the earlier third alternative or third front efforts did not fructify because we didn't have that common platform and understanding."

Karat's rejection of the idea of a third front comes when the CPM has launched one of its biggest campaigns in recent times, with Karat, Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat and S Ramachandran Pillai leading simultaneous jathas to Delhi to project the CPM's policy prescription.

The CPM general secretary also said he did not foresee an early election. He downplayed the party's Kerala unit's move to seek V S Achuthanandan's removal as Leader of Opposition: "This issue has not come up for discussion at all. It is not on the agenda at all..."

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