Emergence of Third Front cause of worry for UPA, NDA: Karat

Emergence of the non-Congress, non-BJP alternative has caused consternation in UPA and NDA as their "fragility" has come to the fore with some of their partners signalling pre- or post-poll alliances with the third force, claims CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat.

Emergence of the non-Congress, non-BJP alternative has caused consternation in UPA and NDA as their "fragility" has come to the fore with some of their partners signalling pre- or post-poll alliances with the third force, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat has claimed.

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"Both the Congress and the BJP are on shaky ground when they termed the Third Front as an unstable and unviable alliance. The reality is that both the UPA and the NDA are not durable alliances and that their fragility has come to the fore in the recent period," the CPI(M) General Secretary said.

BJP had a "greater cause for worry" because, unlike in 1999 and 2004, many of the secular regional parties "are no more willing" to be associated with it and were finding their place in the non-Congress, non-BJP camp, the latest being the BJD in Orissa which gave the saffron party a "body blow", Karat claimed in an article in the latest issue of party organ 'People's Democracy'.

Maintaining that the gaining of strength of the non-Congress, non-BJP grouping of parties had worried the Congress as well, he said some of the UPA partners were also "signalling that alignments will change according to the post-poll situation".