Mayawati, Third Front leaders join hands
STRATEGY SESSION: Third Front leaders (from left) Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), A.B. Bardhan (CPI), D. Raja (CPI), H.D. Deve Gowda (JD-S), Prakash Karat (CPI-M), Mayawati (BSP), Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), T.J. Chandrachoodan (RSP) and K. Chandrasekhara Rao (TRS) at a dinner meeting in New Delhi on Sunday, 15 March,2009
NEW DELHI (March 15, 2009): Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and leaders of the Third Front, barring the AIADMK, joined hands at a dinner hosted by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister wherein they resolved to work for forming a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre in the coming elections keeping the interests of the country and people in mind.
The coming together of the leaders is significant as it happened nearly eight months after they jointly decided to vote against the Manmohan Singh government in July last year during a debate on the nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha.
Ms. Mayawati, who gave a brief statement to the media in the presence of the leaders of the Third Front, said the meeting coincided with the birth anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram and shifting of her residence in Delhi. They discussed the strategies to be adopted during the elections to provide a better alternative government minus the Congress, the BJP at the Centre.
Among others Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), A.B. Bardhan, D. Raja (CPI), H.D. Deve Gowda (JD-S), N. Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), K. Chandrasekhara Rao (TRS), Jay Panda (BJD), Debabrata Biswas (AIFB) and T.J. Chandrachoodan and Abani Roy (RSP) attended.
Asked why he did not attend the dinner hosted by Ms. Mayawati, AIADMK Parliamentary Party leader V. Maitreyan said his party general secretary Jayalalithaa had asked him to attend only the meeting of Third Front held at the CPI(M) headquarters. Asked whether his party got an invitation from Ms. Mayawati, he said: “I don’t know.”
Mr. Yechury said Mr. Maitreyan was not able to attend the dinner as he was busy with the collection of funds for Sri Lankan Tamils and a meeting in this regard with Indian Red Cross officials.
