Prospects of non BJP, non Congress parties alliance in 2014 General election

The 16th lok Sabha election is just a few days ahead and the unique feature of it is the tripartite competition.
Unlike other years where the competition was chiefly between Congress led UPA and BJP led NDA, this time, the coalition of 11 parties called Third front is a also in fray and can turn the tables around.

On 25th February, the Third Font comprising of seven regional and four left wing parties declared itself as an alternative to the incumbent Congress and the other major parties i.e. the BJP.

The get together of the 14 parties, which hosted an anti-Communal Convention in the aftermath of the deadly Muzaffarnagar riots, last October, marked the first steps towards the formation of this alliance.

This was confirmed when Nitish Kumar arrived in Delhi to flag off a non-Congress non-BJP font.

The first alternative government to the Congress first came into being in 1977. It was the Janta Dal that formed the government following national emergency that had discredited the Congress. Janta Dal was people's choice as they wanted to change the Congress rule. However this government could not last long and did not complete its full term.

Then in 1996, Third Font came into power with H.D.D Gowde as the Prime Minister. But this government too could not hold power and lasted only till 1998. So the Third Font does not seem to have a promising history.

To form Government, a party has to get 272 seats either individually or in a coalition. This time Congress can win approximately 125 seats in Loksabha. The BJP needs to do better its 1998 record of winning 182 Loksabha seats if it wants to form a government. It has to further improve its tally in coalition with other regional parties. In case if it fails then the Third Font has a chance to form the government, that may be supported by the Congress.

The last Delhi assembly election is an example of people's resentment against Congress and the BJP. They elected the AAP(Aam Admi Party) to rule the state.
The parties that have joined hands to form Third Font have a strong hold in their respective states.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India having the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats(80). Samajwadi Party won the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2012 defeating the major political parties.

In Odisha, the BJD led by Navin Pattanaik has won in assembly elections three times consecutively.
AIADMK is the ruling power of Tamil nadu and can easily manage to win at least 20 of the 39 seats of the state.
CPI (M) has a possibility to win in Tripura and even in Kerala they can win a good number of seats. Other than these parties, other strong allies of the Third Font are Janta Dal United and JVM (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha).
With such strong parties coming together, BJP and Congress is going to have a tough time in the upcoming election. However there are some negative things regarding the Third Font.

1. The parties are not bound by a strong ideal. It is just a political conglomeration and can break any moment.
2. The coalition is just to gain power in the centre. The alliance is formed by parties which are expected to get a good number of seats in Lok Sabha and that is the reason why these parties from different parts of the country have allied. They do not represent unified India.
3. As soon as the election results are out, any party can break the alliance and join the coalition with the party that seem to have a chance to form the government.
4. Even if the Third font wins the election, will they be able to take unanimous decision? All the parties being equally powerful, there will definitely be an internal struggle. Its first sign will show up in deciding the Prime Ministerial candidate.

India's real enemy is the self-interest politics. It's high time that we rise above it and use our judgement to elect the best candidates. The future of the Third Font will be decided by the wise citizens of the country.

Anwesha Bandopadhyay

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