Trinamool Congress takes lead to form Third Front

IndiaNews Political Bureau (with agency inputs)

New Delhi, Saturday 15 June 2013, 00:23 AM (IST)

West Bengal CM Miss Mamata Banerji's All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) has taken the lead to form a Third Front of regional parties to form India's Central Government in 2014.

The mecurial TMC leader who was voted in May 2013 as India's most honest politician in an internal poll by members of India Against Corruption, India's largest anti-corruption coalition, being closely followed by the Chief Minister of the neigbouring state of Bihar Mr. Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) JD(U) made the pronouncement on Thursday.

Already leaders of other political formations are scrambling to prevent Nitish Kumar and Ms. Mamata Banerjee's parties from reaching a pre-poll alliance. JD(U) National Convenor Sharad Yadav, a political lightweight, met yesterday with Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPIM chief trouble-shooter Sitaram Yechury to discuss the fallout of  Ms. Banerjee's call.  The JD(U) is presently part of the NDA, a coalition of Hindu right-wing parties affiliated to the Bharatiya Janta Party BJP which has been out of power at the Centre since 2004.

IAC's poll for India's most honest personality

Sonia Gandhi		(0.54%)
Narendra Modi		(10.81%)
Mayawati		(0%)
Jayalalitha		(0%)
Nitish Kumar		(17.3%)
Mulayam Singh Yadav		(3.24%)
Mamata Banerjee		(31.89%)
P Chidambaram		(11.35%)
Nandan Nilekani		(6.49%)
Montek Singh Ahluwalia		(0.54%)
Mukesh Ambani		0 (0%)
Arvind Kejriwal		(6.49%)
Altamas Kabir		(1.08%)
Barkha Dutt		(0.54%)
Others - Baba Ramdev, Sachin Tendulkar etc.		(9.73%)