The political rumbling in Delhi following a meeting of Opposition leaders called by Sharad Pawar hinted at a possible development towards the formation of a third front to take on the BJP’s might. However, TMC leader Yashwant Sinha and political strategist Prashant Kishor downplayed the meeting, saying it is not about forming any front against the BJP.
Kishor said that a third or fourth front cannot emerge as a successful challenge to the current regime and that the third front is an archaic model and is not suited to the current political dynamics.
TMC leader Yashwant Sinha said that Pawar will be holding a meet of ‘Rashtra Manch’, a political action group set up by him in 2018. “We shall have a meeting of the Rashtra Manch tomorrow at 4 pm. Sri Sharad Pawar has kindly agreed to host the meeting at his place,” said Sinha on Twitter.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also said that this is not a meeting of all opposition parties. “Sharad Pawar is meeting Rashtra Manch leaders today. He is a big leader and many people consult him on various issues including politics, economy. I won’t say this is a meeting of all opposition parties. SP, BSP, YSRCP, TDP and TRS also not in this meeting,” said Raut.
Reports suggest that intellectuals including former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, former ambassador KC Singh, senior advocate KTS Tulsi, lyricist Javed Akhtar, filmmaker Pritish Nandy, senior lawyer Colin Gonsalves along with some senior journalists will also be part of this meeting.
However, Prashant Kishor meeting Pawar twice within two weeks has been seen as something more than what it is being projected as. On meeting with Pawar, Kishor said that it was an attempt to get to know each other better. He said that the two discussed state-wise factors that may work against the BJP.