The succinct editorial, “Third front options”, put in perspective the hullaballoo over the formation of an alternative political front. The relentless discussion over a non-Congress, non–BJP alliance has been fuelled by blind enthusiasm among the political and electoral classes. It is practically impossible for the regional parties, in whatever combination, to win enough Lok Sabha seats to form a government on its own. Only the post-election reality can indicate what groupings are feasible. Till then, parties with a common enemy can confer with each other in the hope of rousing their cadres. But it is common knowledge that alliances formed on an ad-hoc basis will not last.
K.D. Viswanaathan,
Coimbatore
All the current to-do over the formation of the third front is of no relevance to the common man. All political parties are in it for the power and we, the people, become the scapegoats of their attempts to obtain it. Don’t these opportunistic proclamations of support and forming of alliances strike the layperson as ephemeral and, therefore, disingenuous? The fault, to a degree, also lies with the public, who worship the corrupt in positions of power and abhor principled people who live modest lives. Secular politics may be the answer to the bane of communal politics but it is still a far cry from developmental politics.
U. Sai Srinivas,
Ongole
It is not the first time that the idea of an alternative front is leading to such hectic parleys. But setting up an alliance on the eve of the election will be no cakewalk. Politicians may wax lyrical on the potential of the green pastures held out by the individuality of their front, but in a country where there are long-standing national parties in the front line, such political aspirations are utopian. The third front is a post-electoral option. All that the prevailing hype on this matter lays bare is the irrepressible dissatisfaction of people with the political system and its present players.
Shamsheer Kakkuni,
Calicut
