Atleast three political parties — Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK — which have together 44 members in the Lok Sabha, have been distancing themselves from the three Fronts — UPA, NDA and the newly formed Thrid Front — formulating their strategy for the next General Election.
These three parties have been watching the Congress, the BJP and the Third Front who are assessing whether or not the alleged scam in the allocations of coal box would become Bofors 2.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has become a leader of the Third Front, popularly known as the United Front. It consist of the Samajwadi Party (22 members in the Lok Sabha), the CPIM (16), the TDP(6), the CPIU(4), Forward Bloc (2) and the RSP (2).
He expects the 52 members bloc could emerge as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP-led Fronts.
But the question is whether chief ministers Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik, who are heading the AIADMK and the BJD respectively, can accept Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav as the leader.
On the other hand, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav would not like to ally with the Third Front for the simple reason that he wants to be closer to the Congress in Bihar. He had earlier opposed Mulayam Singh Yadav to become the Prime Minister.
That is why the non-Congress, non BJP regional players — SP and BSP, DMK and AIADMK, Trinamul Congress and the Left and the JD(U) and the RJD — cannot come together. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had earlier ditched Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in the presidential election and before that, the Left parties on the issue of nuclear deal with the US. His party had also fielded candidates against the RJD in the Bihar Assembly polls.
And that is perhaps the reason why Ms Mayawati, Ms Jayalalithaa and Mr Patnaik are not keen to join any front. The TDP, the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Asom Gana Parishad and the INLD cannot go with the UPA because their fight has always been against the Congress in Andhra, Punjab, Assam and Haryana. Therefore, they will ally with the parties which can defeat the Congress.
Among the NDA and the UPA, the Janata Dal(U) and the Trinamul Congrss could take an independent position if the BJP and the Congress try to impose their decision on them.