The third front, which is yet to be formed by non-Congress and non-BJP parties, could only lead India in the right direction, said former West Bengal Chief Minister and CPI (M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on 13 April.
He said that Congress has realized that it can't return to power in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is still to be judged of his misdeeds. Bhattacharjee also explained that the way Modi intends to lead the nation is "dangerous," media reports say. Hence, according to him the third front is the only alternative for now.
He was canvassing for his party candidate Suhashini Ali who is contesting from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal.
He said that if all non-Congress and non-BJP parties formed a third front, it would comprise 50 per cent share votes of the ongoing Lok Sabha election. Non-Congress and non-BJP coalitions formed governments at the Centre between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1996 and 1998.
Seeking votes from people for Left parties, the former chief minister alleged that there was total anarchy in West Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is the ruling party. Attacks on women were on the rise and law and order was very bad in the state, he added.
He also blamed Mamata Banerjee-led TMC for allowing electoral entry to BJP in West Bengal. Citing this reason, he said that no party will align with TMC, which has not yet divulged its alliance plans post election, he added. He described Banerjee's government in the state as inept.
Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao stated that his party would join the third front, which is yet to take its shape. TRS won't join the BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he added, and stated that TRS is a 100 per cent secular party.
(ED:VS)
