Gowda not to take initiative for third front formation

Bangalore, May 25 (UNI) Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president H D Deve Gowda today said his party will not take the lead in the formation of a third front in the country.

Referring to moves in this regard in various parts of the country, he told reporters here that some sort of realignment or regrouping was taking place and he would provide ''little strength'' to such moves organised against the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He said the growing trend in the country of no single party gaining majority both at the national and state level was further strengthened in the recent Assembly elections, which saw DMK heading a minority Government in Tamil Nadu and Assam witnessing a coalition Government. The trend of Tamil Nadu seeing either the Congress, DMK or AIADMK ruling the state so far, had been reversed, despite the DMK forging a formidable alliance.

Mr Gowda said he would not join national politics as his focus was on improving the party's strength in Karnataka, where the JD(S) led a coalition Government. He had politely refused the request of JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, who met him in New Delhi recently, to take active part in national politics, he added.

He maintained that the party would continue to remain equidistant from the Congress and the BJP and would contest on its own in the next elections.

On the Karnataka Development Front of the JD(S)-BJP government he said it was the second coalition experiment the state was witnessing after the Congress-JD(S) Government, collapsed, after a section of JD(S) legislators walked away from the alliance.

The KDF would not have any say in the affairs of the party administration and the coordination committee would be concerned more with the running of the Government only, he added.

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