Living on hope

Its leaders expect that after the Assembly elections many outfits at present with either the Congress(I) or the BJP could gravitate towards the People's Front. K. V. PRASAD reports.

YET ANOTHER Front! So the cynics may react to the launch of the People's Front or Lok Morcha at a time when the NDA Government is waging a grim political battle in the wake of the Tehelka tapes expose. For its proponents, the political developments between the formation moves and eventual announcement were not part of the script.

The Left parties, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (Secular) decided to join hands and create a third force in the country. Its strength would now be put to the test in the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Pondicherry due in the next two months.

Unlike the previous United Front experiment, this time around those who advocated a third alternative realised that the parties must get their act together before the elections and not settle for a post-poll alliance. The basic objective is to carve out a distinct identity for the Front which separates it both from the BJP and the Congress(I) in national politics.

The formation of the Front received a boost when the former Prime Ministers, Mr. V.P. Singh and Mr. H.D. Deve Gowda, urged the former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Jyoti Basu, to take the lead. And after differences between Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav were sorted out, with the former agreeing to be its convenor, the contours of the Front became clearer.

While berating the Congress(I) for creating a vacuum that has since been occupied by the BJP, the Front leaders would do well to remember they were equally responsible for the inability of their parties to occupy the space left vacant by the Congress(I). The initial fire of anti-Congressism failed to fuel the third forces despite several attempts and now they have two fronts to tackle - the Congress(I) and the BJP.

This time around, the parties which represent the third force are more confident of forging ahead on the basis of a common thread that weaves them together - mass struggles and economic issues. The main objective is to work for the poor, the minorities, the farmers and the working class and associate themselves with issues agitating the minds of the people.

While the Front may appear soft on the Congress(I) as compared to the BJP, it is on the limited question of communalism. It would coordinate with parties in the Opposition including the Congress(I) so that the fire could be direct against the BJP but otherwise work to create a place for itself.

For the Samajwadi Party, one of the principal constituents of the Front, the Congress(I) is a strict ``no-no'' although Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav sidesteps the question of what the People's Front would do to form an alternative government in case the NDA regime collapses now. Even the Left does not want to entertain such `hypothetical' questions.

The Left, particularly the CPI(M), is also not completely convinced that the Congress(I) has had a change of heart on the issue of coalitions. Another problem area is economic policies. The Left parties as also the others in the Front hold the Congress(I) responsible for initiating the economic reforms which have since been pushed forward by the BJP-led NDA Government.

Its leaders expect that after the Assembly elections many outfits at present with either the Congress(I) or the BJP could gravitate towards the People's Front.

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Section  : Opinion
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