Nitish, Mulayam in 11-party front to battle Cong, BJP

Regional parties and the Left Front on Tuesday announced a pre-poll alliance for the Lok Sabha elections to put forward an "alternative” to both Congress and BJP. In the presence of leaders, including H D Deve Gowda, Nitish Kumar, M Thambi Durai and Mulayam Singh, CPM’s Prakash Karat announced the coalition but did not name any prime ministerial candidate.  The parties in the front are the AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-United, Janata Dal-Secular, Biju Janata Dal, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, CPI, CPM, RSP and the Forward Bloc. Mulayam Singh said the number of parties will swell to 15 as some more outfits were being contacted. The leaders claimed that the Third Front would not have any problem in deciding a prime minister. "Earlier too, we have elected prime ministers after polls without much difficulty,” JD-U president Sharad Yadav told mediapersons at Tripura Bhavan. He referred to the election of Morarji Desai, Deve Gowda and I K Gujral to the top post. Karat also clarified that Jayalalitha did not want to project herself as the prime ministerial candidate right now. "Jayalalitha has said in my presence that no party should raise this question,” said the CPM general secretary. Articulating the nature of the alliance, Karat said every party would go into a seat sharing arrangement to strengthen the front. The leaders also tried to dispel apprehensions over a possible split in the Third Front after the elections. While Mulayam Singh said he would not ally with the Congress, Nitish Kumar asserted that his party would keep away from the BJP. "There is no question of a relationship and we will not even have any contact,” he said. Representatives of two important constituents, Asom Gana Parishad and Biju Janata Dal, were conspicuous by their absence. Karat said both parties have been consulted. Their leaders could not attend the meeting due to personal engagements. The Third Front released a joint declaration saying it was time for a change. "The Congress should be thrown out of power,” they said. "The BJP and communal forces must be defeated and prevented from coming to power.” The coalition promised "strengthening of democratic framework, ending corruption and ensuring accountability in government, establishing a secular order, people-oriented development path which addresses concerns of inequality, social justice, protecting farmers’ interest and women’s rights and creating a true federal system”.   DHNS