The Third Front, which has a history of mutative existence, hops into the new year with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgham joining the group of disparate parties ganging up on a non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party platform.
The Samajwadi Party-smarting from its defeat at the hands of its bete noire Bahujan Samaj Party in the 2007 UP assembly elections - did the initial spadework for the Front only to desert the camp and provide crucial life support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government after the Left pulled the plug on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal.
It was the SP which had brought together regional parties like the Telugu Desam Party, Asom Gana Parishad, Indian National Lok Dal, National Conference and Babulal Marandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik, to cobble up an anti-Congress and anti-BJP front.
The party also tried to rope in AIADMK, but its chief J Jayalalithaa, after showing initial interest, backed out.
The parties named the coalition United National Progressive Alliance, an earlier version of the Third Front. However, the UNPA disintegrated in June.
A day after the Congress-led UPA government managed to win the July 22 confidence vote with support from the SP, the TDP, Janata Dal-Secular, AGP, INLD, NC and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik, along with the Left and BSP, announced a new Third Front,
Sharing a common platform, the motley gathering of regional satraps announced that they would fight the UPA and
the NDA alliances in the next Lok Sabha elections.
They also announced that there would be regular meetings of the Front allies to formulate strategies on tackling their formidable opponents. Even Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal pledged its support to the Front. However this one too, like the other experiments of the past, turned out be a sour dream.
Soon after the show of strength, the BSP, AGP, INLD, RLD, National Conference and Babulal Marandi, drifted away.
The BSP in fact never showed any serious inclination towards joining the alliance and Mayawati even announced her decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls in UP on all the 80 seats on her own, dashing RLD's hopes of a tie-up.
Though TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has held talks with Mayawati in Delhi during the last three months, her commitment to the Front remains under a cloud.
The RLD also, after much dilly-dallying, last month indicated that it is involved in talks with BJP over joining the NDA.
The AGP had in July itself announced its inclination towards BJP, while INLD too has announced its tie up with the
saffron party for general elections in Haryana.
Marandi too is being wooed by the BJP, but he has not iven any commitment.
The National Conference is cozying up to the Congress as it needs the party's support for forming a government in Jammu and Kashmir.
With the Third Front fighting for survival, both the Congress and the BJP are equally dismissive about it.
"This Front does not have a future, and did not have a past either. However it could eat into secular votes," said
Congress spokesperson and Union Minister Shakeel Ahmad.
He infact cautioned CPI-M leader Prakash Karat against AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa and BSP supremo Mayawati, both of whom, he said, were earlier with the saffron party and can go to any other party in the post-election scenario.
"Karat should ensure that both the ladies stay with the Third Front after the general elections also," Ahmad told PTI.
The BJP described the Third Front as an illusion."The Third Front does not exist. Due to political compulsions and limitations there are attempts to form a Third Front, but even before it is formed, it will collapse," said BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Now, JD-S chief Deve Gowda along with Naidu and Left leaders like CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat and CPI leader A B Bardhan are trying hard to breathe some life into the Third Front ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
It was recently joined by AIADMK, and Karat expressed hope of the Front's revival by February 2009.
