11 Parties Form Alternative To Counter BJPand Congress in Lok Sabha Polls Tuesday Feb 25,2014

As many as 11 Left and regional parties came together on a single platform in the Capital on Tuesday, vowing to counter the "communal agenda" of the BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, while opposing the Congress. 

Declaring the BJP and Modi are "a challenge to the very secular edifice of our state and society," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said: "We will unitedly counter (this challenge) to make sure the BJP and allies do not come to power."

The Third Front's resolve was made known: "It is time to change and throw out the Congress from power. The BJP and communal forces must be defeated and prevented from coming to power." 

Though leaders of only nine of the 11 parties which formed a separate bloc in Parliament earlier this month were present at the meeting - Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) did not have representation at Tuesday’s meeting

The meeting was also attended by H.D. Deve Gowda (JD-S), veteran CPI leader A.B. Bardhan, M. Thambidurai (AIADMK), T.G. Chandrachoodan (RSP), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), K.C. Tyagi (JD-U), and S. Sudhakara Reddy (CPI).

Together, these 11 parties have 92 MPs in the 543- member Lok Sabha.

These parties had earlier shared a common platform against communalism in October last, and on February 05,2014 presented themselves as a block in Parliament.

Presenting the front as an alternative to both the Congress and the BJP, a joint declaration said: "The country is going to the polls again to elect the 16th Lok Sabha. This is an occasion for the people of India to decide the future direction of the Republic."

Besides SP, CPI(M), JD(U), BJD and AGP, the other signatories to the declaration are the AIADMK, JD(S), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, CPI, All India Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party