Front that’s Third

The very name ‘‘Third Front’’ is suggestive of its nature and character. The conglomerate of JD-S, Telegu Desam, AIADMK, Left parties and other small political groups, which has come to be known as Third Front attempting to form a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections, has a certain peril about it — in terms of economic policies, counter-terrorism and a gamut of other pressing issues facing the country. There cannot at all be any doubt about the Left calling the shots in the Third Front, which means — supposing the possibility of a Third Front government at the Centre — the Left will completely hijack the otherwise irreversible economic reforms agenda to suit its own, but obsolete, theory of ‘egalitarianism’. The Third Front will also make a complete mess of the counter-terrorism strategy being chalked out to face jihadi terror. They do not have any policy to counter the threat. This is not all. The Third Front will definitely, again under pressure from the Left, ‘secularize’ things far more than the Congress has, thus seriously undermining national security concerns. The Third Front, therefore, means more trouble, less development, and far more dangerous ramifications for national security. A front that calls itself ‘‘third’’ cannot be expected to deliver as the first or second front would. But the tragedy is that votes will be divided, harming both the UPA and the NDA. THE SENTINEL