Third Front is at best a bargaining platform- ET Debate-Opinion-The Economic Times

Third Front is at best a bargaining platform- ET Debate-Opinion-The Economic Times: "the Third Front is presently an inchoate medley of parties lacking organisational cohesion or a common programme, with ambitious, mercurial, regional chieftains like Mayawati, Pawar and Gowda who would like to be PM but would not be able to run a coalition jointly.

Membership remains open with many like the TDP yet to decide, many — including the Left — could join/desert after the elections to maximise gains. Apart from Mayawati, much of the posturing by regional leaders is to protect weakening home turfs from opposition parties or forces emerging from the penetration of regionalisation into new regions/communities.

The DMK faces a challenge from not only the AIADMK or PMK but also Vijaykanth’s DMDK; the TDP from TRS and Chiranjeevi’s Prajarajyam; the Left from Mamata’s Trinamool, and the SP from Mayawati’s BSP. The BJD jettisoned the NDA based on calculations that it can fight alone in Orissa, not because it was keen to join the Front.

Thus, despite eight members, the Front remains at best a “bargaining platform” for a greater share in state and national governance; forming a national government remains a distant dream."