Chennai:
Akhilesh Yadav took the Samajwadi Party's hunt for new allies to Tamil Nadu yesterday, pitching a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav at the head of it. He also met Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was in Chennai to inaugurate a cultural festival organised by the Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK- backed Vanniyar community. But, he had more than culture on his mind.
Addressing a 2000-strong gathering, Mr Yadav who usually speaks in Hindi, said in English, "You want my father to come forward to lead at the Centre? I should add that only when you support, he would get the strength for that (sic)."
Speaking to reporters later, he said, "Both the Congress and the BJP have not fulfilled promises... There is an opportunity for a third force."
Mr Yadav chose not to share what he discussed later with Ms Jayalalithaa or if he saw a potential Third Front ally in her party, the AIADMK. Ms Jayalalithaa is at present not a part of any national alliance, though the BJP-led NDA has been wooing her party assiduously for some time now.
If Mr Yadav did his homework on Tamil Nadu parties before he left for Chennai, he would know that the PMK, which had invited him, is not known to be the staunchest of allies. In every election, the party has backed the alliance that seems to have the best chance of winning and has partnered both the AIADMK and its arch rival, the DMK at different times.
The PMK, headed by S. Ramadoss, holds no seat in the current Lok Sabha and only three in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Tamil Nadu party, the DMK, recently walked out of the Congress-led UPA, making it depend even more heavily on the external support of 22 MPs that the Samajwadi Party provides. Both the Yadavs, father and son, have been extremely critical of the Congress recently and have asked their party to prep for early elections. Akhilesh said yesterday that Mulayam Singh would decide whether the party would continue to prop up the Manmohan Singh government.