Deve Gowda, the humble farmer once again at his humble best, coughed up 2.5 corer rupees for this jamboree. With so much money spent and so many people present at the rally site one thought that the leaders of the so called Third Front, would have come out with some manifesto or at least a common minimum programme out lining what the Front intends to achieve and how? After all a rally is not a picnic. Unfortunately nothing of the sorts happened. To start with, Third Front currently consists of five regional parties and the four parties of the Left Front.

The people of this country have a right to know as to why instead of strengthening the two major existing coalitions of the country namely UPA and NDA, the Third Front leaders want to cobble together another coalition at the cost of weakening the existing ones? Leader after leader of this new front are only harping on one point that they want to open another alternative for the people of India which will be minus Congress or the BJP. The question is when have these Third Front leaders carried out an opinion poll to gauge the feelings of the public? Do people of India really want an alternative? The most optimistic of political analysts are only giving 96 seats to the Third Front in the current form. Even after 60 years of Independence and literacy rate in India shooting up to sixty four percent, do these leaders still believe that the Aam Admi of India is such a fool that he does not know that to attain a majority and form a Government a minimum of 272 seats are required? Where will the balance of 176 seats come from for the Third Front?

This is for sure that it is not ideology or public concern that has brought them together, otherwise a party like BJD which for the last 11 years was the closest partner of the NDA supposedly having a communal agenda, could not have suddenly became secular, qualifying for joining the Third Front, all in a single day. Needless to say the constituents of this Front have come together in a most opportunistic way to enhance their own political and bargaining value. The various parties of this group will rush to the arms of NDA or UPA coalitions after the polls depending on who offers them more goodies. Aim is to carry out horse trading of the worst kind.

What is even more jarring is that whether it is humble farmer Deve Gowda of JD (S), Chandra Babu Naidu of TDP, Ms Jayalaita of AIDMK or BSP supremo Mayavati, all have only one burning desire, that is to become the Prime Minister of India. Even the Left is not averse to this high office. In this coalition there are more Prime Ministers in waiting then the prime votes. Earlier experiment of the third front in 1996 did not survive because of this very Prime Ministerial ambition of the constituents. Despite the rally in Karnataka and dinner diplomacy at Ms Mayawatis’ residence in Delhi, these leaders could not agree on a Prime ministerial candidate. Apparently history is repeating itself and no lessons have been learnt from the past,

Election 2009 is very special for India. With 64-crore population between 18 to 30 years in age, India is the youngest country in the world today. Also for this election four crores of youth will be voting for the first time. What this youth power can do is amply demonstrated by the recent election results of Bangladesh. There they have thrown out the fundamentalist Government of Begum Kahlida Zia and have brought the secularist Party of Shekh Hasina back to power with a thumping majority just because she gave them a vision in her election manifesto. With global recession and the resultant job shortage staring Indian youth on the face, they do not want empty promises by these old netas of the bygone era. They want youthful leaders with vision, energy and well-chalked out programmes to guide them to fulfill their aim and mission in life in these difficult times. Maybe the Third Front netas have not realized that the days of these political games of self before service are over.

Today there is an all time need for the country to have a strong government and strong leader at the helm. On our Western border Pakistan is fast becoming a failed state. On our East, Bangladesh has just faced a major mutiny in their paramilitary force unsettling the country. In the North, Nepal is highly disturbed and in the South Sri Lanka is in the throes of a fratricidal civil war. With the serious threat to India’s security from all sides and the flagging Indian economy rendering crores jobless, the need of the hour is for coming together of various political parties. They must bury their political differences to form one solid front against the looming shadow of Taliban and Jehad from across the borders.

For once the Indian political class must stop playing dirty games. It is necessary for the Indian public, especially the youth to realize how they are being led up the garden path and conned by this so-called Third Front. India has to live with the ongoing coalition politics. In the form of NDA and UPA the country is already having two major coalitions there is no space for a third one now.