‘Opposition’s third-front experiment shouldn’t be repeated’, says Congress

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh says opposition unity without Congress isn’t possible. It comes as TMC and TRS are pushing for a non-Congress-and-non-BJP front.

Jairam Ramesh addressing a press conference in Kolkata | ANI

Kolkata: In an attempt to assert its numero uno position among Opposition parties, the Congress has said that the “third front experiment” won’t work in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

Addressing a news conference in Kolkata on ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ Saturday, Congress General Secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that opposition unity was impossible without the Congress. 

“Every political party wants to take something from the Congress. This will not do. This third front experiment that we had is not an experiment that should be repeated,” Ramesh said.

The statements come at a time when chief ministers and leaders of regional parties such as K. Chandrashekar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (known popularly as KCR) and Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have been seeking to forge a non-Congress-and-non-BJP political front.

With Congress’s seat strength reduced in several states in the country, opposition parties like TMC and the Aam Aadmi Party have openly hit out at the Congress party for hurting the opposition’s chances of taking on the BJP-led NDA coalition. 

‘No opposition unity without Congress’

 “If people are interested in opposition unity they must understand two things — that without the Congress at fulcrum and pivot no opposition unity is possible, and second, [that any] government [by the opposition] coalition must have a strong Congress,” Ramesh said. 

He even went on to take a veiled swipe at the Trinamool Congress by saying: “There are multiple parties in India that have been formed out of the Congress and insist on using the word Congress. I wish we had patent rights on the word Congress”.

Shourjya Bhowmik, political analyst and author of the book Gangster State, told ThePrint that the Congress “is looking for a face-saver”.

“Its political dividends have reduced massively in the country and a third front would further hurt the Congress,” he said. 

TMC Member of Parliament Sougata Roy however saw the Congress’s statement as an outcome of “frustration”. “Congress is frustrated, and, with Trinamool’s rise, they’re even more worried. Hence [they’re] making such statements. The third front is an idea Congress had earlier. TMC’s approach is very clear, we are slowly but steadily expanding across the country. TMC hasn’t spoken about alliances because it is very early to make such comments,” he said. 

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)