The Hindu : Emergence of Third Front gives jitters to Cong.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 08, 2003

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Emergence of Third Front gives jitters to Cong.

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI JUNE 7 .The emergence of a Third Front hardly five months ahead of Delhi Assembly elections is giving jitters to Congress MLAs and its leaders. The harsh memories of the 1993 Assembly elections combined with the increased presence of the Bahujan Samaj Party in Delhi could well upset the Congress applecart.

However, many in the ruling party here are of the view that the damage would be big only if the national leaders of the Third Front parties join hands and campaign in Delhi in the run-up to the Assembly polls. Things could get hot for the Congress if leaders like the former Prime Ministers, V.P. Singh, H.D. Deve Gowda and Chandra Shekhar, along with the Lok Janshakti Party president, Ram Vilas Paswan, decide to hit the road in Delhi. "These leaders have a good following in various sections. While Mr.V.P. Singh could sway the scale in favour of Third Front in the slum clusters, he along with Mr. Chandra Shekhar and Mr. Paswan would greatly influence the voting pattern of the Poorvanchal vote bank,'' confessed a senior Congress leader.

In fact, what is worrying Congress MLAs most is that, keeping in mind the victory margins of a large number of party legislators in the previous Vidhan Sabha polls, the shift of the traditional vote bank even marginally could see a dramatic change in the outcome. On the one hand, the Third Front would be targeting various sections including those living in slum clusters and the Poorvanchal vote bank, the BSP would be playing the Dalit and weaker sections card to secure a big chunk of votes. During the MCD elections last year, the BSP had fared well to secure 8 per cent of the vote share, which it plans to increase to 12 per cent this time. Similarly, the Third Front parties claim that they would improve on the percentage of votes secured by them compared to 1993 Assembly polls when it got 15 per cent of the vote share.

At that point of time, the united Janata Dal had made life difficult for the Congress as it managed to secure four seats and ensured the defeat of the Congress candidates in 28 Assembly seats leading to the formation of the BJP Government in Delhi. Although the Congress is trying to underplay the formation of the Third Front, many in the party feel that it is high time the organisation realised the ground realities and did damage control. In fact, one section within the Congress is in favour of opening a dialogue with the Third Front even if it means sacrificing a few seats for the larger interest.

Political observers are of the view that despite the continued stand adopted by BSP leader, Mayawati, that it would have a tie-up with the BJP in Delhi, things could well work the other way round. Even if the BSP and the BJP do not go together, the BSP has the potential to ensure that its vote bank remains intact. But even this could be a worrisome situation for the Congress which could find itself losing out to the Third Front and the BSP. Although this might not fetch seats for the Third Front or the BSP, they could ensure the defeat of the Congress candidates in as many as 45 to 50 seats in Delhi.

As a senior Third Front leader remarked, "Apart from this, we are also banking on the severe infighting within the Delhi Congress. Even if they change the leadership in the next organisational set-up, it would only aggravate the situation and factionalism within the party.''

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