New Delhi / Kolkata: Narendra Modi's growing clout in the BJP might just do what many political efforts over the years have not. Resurrect a Third Front.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today that she had spoken to Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar and Babulal Marandi, her counterparts in Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand on the formation of a "federal front."
As she escorted KC Tyagi, a senior leader of Mr Kumar's party the Janata Dal (United), out of her office, Ms Banerjee said, "We are looking at a Third Front. Let's see what happens."
On Monday, Ms Banerjee had said in a Facebook post, "Time has come for all the regional parties to come together and form a Federal Front in the coming Lok Sabha election. I appeal to all the non-Congress, non-BJP regional parties to launch a united fight to free the country from misrule and anti-people decisions."
Naveen Patnaik, in an interview to NDTV on Monday, backed the formation of a Third Front.
Before Mr Tyagi met Ms Banerjee in her Kolkata office today, he said, "Both the UPA and the NDA have failed."
Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is recently divorced from the ruling Congress-led UPA. The JD(U) has been a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance or NDA for a decade and a half. But the BJP over-ruling party stalwart LK Advani to appoint Mr Modi head of its election campaign committee this week has sent alarm bells ringing.
Mr Modi's fans and critics see in his elevation the likelihood that he will next be named the party's candidate for Prime Minister in next year's general elections.
That will make him the face of the NDA which is not acceptable to Nitish Kumar who has reportedly ordered JD(U) legislators not to leave Patna so that they can be consulted about ending the partnership that has won two consecutive elections in Bihar.
So far Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party had, in his many tirades against the Congress, talked wishfully about getting like-minded parties together for a Third Front. Mr Yadav, whose son Akhilesh Yadav is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, provides crucial external support to the UPA at the Centre, but has said many times that he does not