Crucial Third Front meet begins in TN capital

Chennai, June 18: The crucial meeting of the Third Front comprising eight parties began here this morning to announce its nominee for the Presidential Elections besides giving a name for the combine and announcing its leader.

Leaders of the parties comprising the AIADMK, MDMK, TDP, Samajwadi Party (SP), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Kerala Congress (T), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and the AGP met at the Poes Garden Residence of AIADMK General Secretary and Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa here.

This is the second time the Third Front conclave of the non-Congress and the non-BJP parties is meeting after its conclave on June 6 at Hyderabad, to give a final shape to the combine.

The Hyderabad meeting decided the Front would keep an equal distance from both the Congress and the BJP. They also agreed to give a formal shape and nomenclature to the combine at the Chennai meeting. Ms Jayalalithaa, who had been authorised by the party executive to decide on AIADMK's stand on the Presidential candidate, had ruled out any support to UPA nominee Pratibha Patil for the post and made it clear that other parties in the Third Front, too, would toe her line.

She also said the Front had three options supporting the candidate already in the fray, putting up its own candidate or abstain from voting.

''However, if there is a possibility of defeating the UPA candidate, we will press for it,'' she had said.

The Third Front finds itself in a predicament on finalising the strategy for the Presidential polls. Supporting Mr Bhairon Singh Shekawat would mean backing the BJP-led NDA. Should it choose its own candidate, the Third Front was certain to lose as it did not have an adequate number of votes in the electoral college.

Abstaining from voting would also be a difficult option as no political party had abstained from the Presidential polls so far.

However, at Hyderabad yesterday, TDP Leader N Chandrababu Naidu announced that the Former Tamil Nadu Governor Fathima Beevi would be the Front's candidate for the Presidential polls.

The leaders who are attending today's meeting include Ms Jayalalithaa (AIADMK), Vaiko (MDMK), Mr Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh (SP), N Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), Om Prakash Chautala (INLD), Babulal Marandi (JVM) and Brindaban Goswami (AGP).

UNI

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