Even as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish asserted that the JD(U) would take a final call on its alliance with the NDA in the next few days, party general secretary K C Tyagi visited the West Bengal secretariat, Writers’ Building in Kolkata, to discuss the possibility of regional parties stringing together a third front.
“We’re going to have our party meeting within two or three days. We will respond after that. But we are still part of NDA... Our leaders Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar have a long association with Didi,” Tyagi said.
Pacified BJP leader L K Advani is believed to have also spoken to Nitish to remain in the NDA, but West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee too is leaving no stone unturned to woo like-minded parties.
“Nitishji said we will be happy if we can do it with the objective of the common cause of the people,” Banerjee said. With the TMC severing ties with the UPA last year, a motley group of regional parties forging an alternative front seems to be the only plausible pre-poll alliance going into the elections next year.
On Monday, Banerjee had appealed to regional parties through Facebook to come together and form a Federal Front in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“I appeal to all the non-Congress, non-BJP regional parties to launch a united fight to free the country from misrule and anti-people decisions, and work together to build a better and brighter India. Let us stand together. Let us talk together. Let us decide a plan of action for the next Lok Sabha election,” Banerjee had posted on Facebook.
“We are happy. And, you know some days ago Babulal Marandi (JVM-P chief) came from Jharkhand to talk on this. Two or three other leaders came and talked with us...
“Since my call for a Federal Front through a Facebook post some days ago, many are talking with us. We will talk on strengthening of the federal structure,” Banerjee said.