New Delhi: Is a new Third Front taking shape? No, say Left leaders. Friday's rally where they will share stage with Pawar and Naveen Patnaik is confined to only Orissa.
Says CPM general secretary Prakash Karat: "No..no..no..this is only confined to Orissa."
But these new moves clearly got the Congress worried. Pawar's support could make the crucial difference between power and sitting in the Opposition.
Home Minister P Chidambaram says: "It would be better if Mr Pawar did not attend the Third Front rally."
But the NCP blames Congress for not having a pre-poll alliance of all the UPA parties.
"We wanted to have a national level alliance but the Congress did not agree," says Tariq Anwar, NCP general secretary.
It's clear that the NCP, who wants to see Pawar as the next Prime Minister of india, are keeping its options open. But do the others in the front support Pawar as PM?
Says Jay Panda, an MP of Biju Janata Dal: "Our party president Shri Naveen Patnaik and he has a very good relationship with Sharadji and many national leaders, So I think we will cross that bridge when we come to it."
So, while the Left looks for a new ally in Pawar's NCP for Pawar himself, it is another shot at the top job. In all of this, UPA could well be the loser.