Congress reduced to 'Fourth Front' in some states: BJP

With PMK breaking its ties with UPA, BJP on Thursday took pot-shots at the Congress-led alliance saying this showed the "delivery mechanism of the Congress was failing" and it had been reduced to the "Fourth Front" in several states.

With PMK breaking its ties with UPA, BJP on Thursday took pot-shots at the Congress-led alliance saying this showed the "delivery mechanism of the Congress was failing" and it had been reduced to the "Fourth Front" in several states.

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"With a crucial ally like the PMK gone in Tamil Nadu, the delivery mechanism of the Congress seems to be failing. Now Congress plus UPA comes to very little as it has alliances only in Maharashtra and West Bengal," BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said.

"In 134 seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand Congress has actually become the Fourth Front," he said, adding, "The front runners are now the underdogs". BJP's chief strategist said Sharad Pawar's NCP and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress may have an alliance with Congress "but they are not long term allies".

On the recent developments where smaller parties have formed alliances, Jaitley said these were based on "future flexibility" and had no ideological basis.

Arguing that BJP had allies which were reliable, he said, "There is a fundamental difference between our allies and that of the Congress. Our allies in Punjab, Bihar, Assam and other states form their government with our support. This is not the case with Congress and so its allies can desert easily. So Congress is at best a tail of an alliance."