Stalin ‘endorses’ Mamata's efforts to create Third Front, but denies joining it

Over a month after his telephonic conversation with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over a possible alternate front for the parliamentary polls which will be held in 2019, DMK working president MK Stalin has taken to Twitter to praise the Trinamool Congress Chief.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Stalin said, "DMK has always stood for the unity of regional parties and stronger federal co-operation. I endorse the efforts of @MamataOfficial to bring together various political parties to oppose the autocratic and antidemocratic rule of the BJP."

DMK has always stood for the unity of regional parties and stronger federal co-operation. I endorse the efforts of @MamataOfficial to bring together various political parties to oppose the autocratic and antidemocratic rule of the BJP.

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 25, 2018

However, when asked if this is a sign of the DMK joining the third front, the party denied it.

Speaking to TNM, DMK spokesperson A Saravanan said, "There is no third front in existence as of now, so the DMK is not hinting at joining Mamata Banerjee. It is yet to crystallise. This is just an expression of solidarity. She has been a champion of federalism which DMK has always believed in."

The BJP which is still smarting under Stalin's remark that the saffron party and the AIADMK are like a double barrelled gun, however, is not buying it.

"If MK Stalin is endorsing the third front he clearly no longer wants to ally with the Congress. He should make that very clear," says Narayanan Tirupathi of the BJP. "These parties if they come together, will definitely have misunderstandings. They will not meet with any success," he adds.

In March, referring to Mamata's recent telephonic conversation with him, Stalin had said Mamata had called him up in a bid to coordinate in and outside the Parliament against BJP, seen as a precursor to her efforts to stitch a non-BJP coalition for the 2019 polls.

Any decision in this regard will be taken by a DMK high level committee meeting, Stalin said, "DMK is part of the (Congress-led) UPA. Under these circumstances she (Mamata Banerjee) has placed a request. Since elections are a year away, we will discuss the matter in the high level committee meeting."

While the DMK has a long history of alliance with the Congress, it has also allied with the National Front (NF) in 1989. The NF was a coalition of political parties, led by the Janata Dal. They formed India's government between 1989 and 1990 under the leadership of NT Rama Rao as President of national front, and VP Singh as Convener. The coalition's prime minister was VP Singh.