On March 12, the Third Front, which is the other name for a ragtag group of nine parties ranging from the fickle JD(S), which seems to have emerged out of nowhere as a key player in this drama, to the windbag that is the CPI(M), came forward in a show of strength ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The professed aim of this lofty Front is noble in nature. Its leaders say that it will provide a veritable alternative to the BJP and the Congress, and is a coming together of "democratic, secular and Left parties" that have a good chance of sweeping the polls.

The idea behind this Front is noble indeed. But the problem with it is that it seems to be an unholy alliance of just about any major national party that has reached such a place that it has begun to harbour ambitions of working apart from either the Congress and the BJP. This may just prove to be its downfall.

There seems to have been very little planning behind the stitching together of this alliance. The idea might have been born in the minds of the Left 'intellectuals', who had been pushing for it in a feeble way for quite some time at first and then in a stronger manner from the time of the nuclear deal trust vote. The Left then shook hands with the Queen of UP, Mayawati, and projected her as their Prime Ministerial candidate. This probably shook up the BJP and the Congress more than the idea of the Front itself, since Mayawati's unwholesome brand of functioning has already left many a strong-willed political mind trembling.

The Left then followed it up with an alliance with Jayalalithaa - another strong-willed woman, who will not long want to work under a lady with whom she is bound to have a personality clash sooner or later. The personalities of both these women are too large to withstand any form of amiability with each other.

This became a little more apparent Thursday itself, when both women chose to stay away from the main event, deciding that their 'show of strength' would be better served if they remained at home. Mayawati was generous enough to send her second-in-command, Satish Chandra Misra, to the event instead, to represent her.

If this was an cause for embarrassment for the Third Front, especially the Prakash Karat-led Left parties, they did a remarkable job at not showing it. The sight of all these men standing together and raising their arms together not only made for a highly ridiculous picture but was also hardly believable. Hardly anyone, except for the Communists themselves, would have been inspired by any confidence by the sight.

Doomed

The Third Front seems to be doomed from the start. In the unlikely event that neither the Congress nor the BJP is able to form the next coalition government, it seems hardly likely that a Third Front government will last for long. It will be interesting, however, to see how they do struggle to survive. Consider the odds. The Left is going to realise, sooner or later, that it made the wrong decision by choosing to side with Mayawati. That move by itself has damaged their credibility terribly. What's more, Mayawati and Jayalalitha are not going to remain too friendly for long with any other party. They are far too independent for that. Sooner or later they are going to do what they want anyway, and that is going to piss the Left off real bad.

Then consider the other 'stalwart' of the Front - JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda. The man was not ashamed to cast aside the very ideals of what the 'S' in his party's name stands for, when he aligned with the BJP in Karnataka. He might claim it was his son's fault, but we all know who makes the decisions in his family. As soon as it was time to hand over power to the BJP according to the agreement they had, the JD(S) started showing its true colours and revolted. Not once but twice. Eventually, this only helped the BJP gain a foothold in the Southern state.

With such a man gunning for power in the Third Front, we can only pity Mr. Karat for making yet another bad decision by choosing to side with him.

All this only goes to show that if you want to be a third 'force' in a country like India, you had better have your act together. Otherwise, sooner or later, this force will come crashing to the ground like a pack of cards.

Mr. Karat, we wish you well.