Who will be the Third Front's Presidential candidate?

Having declared themselves as a non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party alternative, the eight-party grouping of regional parties would face a predicament in deciding their strategy on the Presidential election during the conclave of the front leaders on Monday.

As these parties had decided against supporting a Congress nominee, they have been left with only three options -- to field a candidate on their own, to support Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekawat's candidature or to abstain from voting.

If they decide to support Shekhawat, who might enter the fray as an Independent, it would still amount to compromising
their basic idea of maintaining equi-distance from both Congress and BJP.

If these parties decide to field their own nominee, they do not have requisite numbers in the electoral college even to put up a semblance of a fight. If they chose to abstain from the election, they would not be participating in the exercise
to elect the first citizen of the country.

In the previous presidential polls, no major parties had abstained from voting.

AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa, who would be hosting the second metting of the leaders of TDP, Samajwadi party, INLD, Jharkand Vikas Morcha, MDMK, AGP and Kerala Congress (T), had categorically said the group had decided against supporting a Congress nominee, even though Congress-led UPA and Left parties had announced Rajasthan Governor Partibha Patil as their nominee for the presidential polls.

The leaders of these parties had their first meeting in Hyderbad on June 6 where they formally launched the Front.

Though the main agenda of Monday's meeting is to decide their strategy on Presidential election, the meeting would
also give a final shape to their new front of non-Congress and non-BJP paries on the basis of an alternative economic policy, AIADMK sources said.

TDP Supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadau, its general secretary Amar Singh, INLD president Om Prakash Chautala, AGP's Brindavan Goswami, Jharkand Vikas Morcha leader Babulal Marandi, Vaiko of MDMK and K J Thomas of Kerala Congress (T) would be attending the conclave to be hold at the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, they said.

Shekhawat had already contacted Jayalalithaa seeking her party's support. Former prime minister A B Vajpayee had
earlier contacted her, seeking her support to Shekhawat.

These parties together account for 1,05,225 votes of the around ten lakh votes in the presidential polls electoral
college.

Most of these parties, which were ruling parties in some states in the past, were also likely to discuss the 'troubles'
posed by the ruling parties' in their respective states.

While Jayalalithaa would be giving an account of the 'torture' she was being subjected to under the DMK regime,
Naidu and Mulayam would speak about their experiences after losing power, AIADMK sources said.

They were likely to formulate a strategy to counter the ruling parties' 'onslaught on them', the sources added. 

The parties, which were opposed to the economic policies of the UPA and NDA, might come out with an alternative policy at the conclave, the sources added.