Jayalalithaa forges alliance with Left in Tamil Nadu: 10 developments

The meeting on February 5 is being held to coincide with the first day that Parliament convenes for a fortnight-long session. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) has taken the initiative to effect a possible regrouping of a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front.

The immediate stated purpose is floor coordination to ensure that the government does not pass important legislation, except the vote on account, in this, the last session of Parliament before the general elections. Janata Dal United and Samajwadi Party want non-financial Bills to be passed by the new government after the elections.

Among regional parties that will attend the Wednesday meeting are Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal, H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular), Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and the Asom Gana Parishad.

Prominent regional parties who will not be there are Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, who will not ally with the Left; M Karunanidhi's DMK, since arch rival AIADMK is part of it; Mayawati's BSP, a bitter rival of the Samajwadi Party and the Telugu Desam Party led by Chandrababu Naidu, who is meeting the BJP's Rajnath Singh this afternoon.

While opinion polls have predicted that some regional parties will do well in their areas in the Lok Sabha election, most do not have strength beyond their states and hence are looking for a joint campaign to add muscle.

Last week Ms Banerjee called for a similar effort, pitching for what she called a "Federal Front" to challenge national parties Congress and BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

In September last year, 13 parties came together at a conclave held in Delhi as an "anti-communal" front. Leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nitish Kumar had held hands on stage in a show of strength. Most of those parties will be part of the Wednesday meeting.

The Janata Dal (Secular) headed by former PM HD Deve Gowda has suggested that the parties take their proposed regrouping further with a joint rally on February 18 in Bangalore.

Experiments to bring all anti-BJP, anti-Congress parties under the same umbrella have been carried out in the past too, but they have floundered because of the conflicting ambitions of regional leaders.

Of the parties group meeting on Wednesday, Ms Jayalalithaa, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nitish Kumar are all said to have prime ministerial ambition. Naveen Patnaik is seen as a dark horse. Last week Mamata Banerjee too indicated her interest in the top post. The BSP's Mayawati is unambiguous that she is aiming there.