Mayawati does not seem to want to look beyond the next state election. Jayalalithaa seems to want to get her way with the presidential election, as also Patnaik. Banerjee certainly wants a bail-out package, she does not seem to want to pitch any higher than that. For the satraps in states seem far more interested in getting their own packages through than aiming for any big-ticket role on the national stage. Today, that does not seem to be a reality. The main issue which brought Third Fronts together was to be in opposition to the government of the day. Our past experiences with the Third Front have not been extremely happy. For Nitish Kumar, the whole focus is on development as also for Patnaik. The issue of caste is not overwhelming in Tamil Nadu, for Mayawati it is one. But most important, they come from different ideological backgrounds. The Third Front cannot happen in a long time since most of the players are not willing to accept second place. But I really see her as a person who would like the top slot.Īnd so we come to the crux of the matter. She has a unique brand identity, she has a presence, and with a bit here or there, she has the numbers. He has changed the face of Bihar from one of a state driven with criminality to one where girls can go to school on bicycles that he has provided.Īnother possible Third Front candidate, though she may object to it, is Mayawati. The man who really could be the pivot in the Third Front is Nitish Kumar. But could she be an ally and take a backseat to the likes of Jayalalithaa? She certainly has numbers but she is a maverick in the extreme. As seen recently, on a television show, she is very clear that anyone who is even remotely seen as pro-Left is an enemy. As of now, she is in a bit of an angry mood with the government, but given her temperament, she is easily swayed. The other person who might be part of this pack could be the very mercurial Mamata Banerjee. There have been problems that he has faced with the kidnappings and the Maoists, but somehow or the other it does not seem to have diminished his stature. Here is a chief minister who has apparently not left his state ever since he came to power. Then again, on her own she may not be able to hack it.īut she seems to have made an alliance with Naveen Patnaik. She is also trying to make her voice heard beyond Tamil Nadu with her very open support for PA Sangma for president.
Let me start with J Jaya-lalithaa, who holds all the aces in Tamil Nadu as of now. So if I was to look at the gameplan for a Third Front, what would it look like? There are several players here who have all made their presence felt on the national scene. At one time, a Communist leader could actually have become the prime minister, but alas, that was not to be thanks to the party's ideologically dogmatic core. But sadly, that was not to be with the likes of Prakash Karat holding the CPI(M)'s reins without the flexibility and pragmatism of his predecessor, HS Surjeet. There was a time, I thought, that the Left might have played a crucial role in politics. Unfortunately, that situation no longer holds. Once upon a time, the Left was a glue to hold together the alternative forces. The NDA should be getting its act together now that the party president has got another shot at the job.Ī Third Front could be a possibility given the number of parties that have shown a proclivity for such experiments in the past. It seems to be getting a spring back in its step after its third anniversary bash that had Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh in attendance. But let me take you through the present scenarios. And indeed this could well be a possibility. And as always, there will be talk of a Third Front. The elections are not really round the corner, but the talk of political alignments is already in the air.
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