Prakash Karat – Will the Third Front work this time?

Biplob Ghosal

Prakash Karat is the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For the 2014 General Elections, Karat has successfully brought eleven political parties under one roof namely the Third Front with the agenda of keeping both the BJP and the Congress out of power.

Four Left parties, Samajwadi Party (SP), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Janata Dal (United) or JD (U), Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Janata Dal (Secular), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have come together and formed an alliance to provide an alternative against the the two national parties.

Well, the idea of Third Front might be a show stopper for PM aspirants like Mulayam Singh Yadav, and J Jayalalithaa, but the fact of the matter is that it has never been able to attract the voters ever since it was formed in 1995-96. The upcoming parliamentary elections doesn't seem to be hold much of the chance for this alliance, as many of the leaders leading the coalition are the most opportunist personalities in the political establishment.

In the recent years, especially after the dramatic pull out of the Left from the UPA-I government over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Communists' influence across the country has been on the downfall. The Left was shaken from its roots when Trinamool Congress-led by Mamata Banerjee defeated the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government in West Bengal in 2011.

Karat was born on February 7, 1948 and graduated from Madras Christian College, BA (Economics). He did his post-graduate degree M Sc (Politics) from University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was rusticated from the University in 1970 for an anti-apartheid protest action.

The CPI(M) general secretary was first elected to Central Committee of the party in 1985 and later elected to Polit Bureau of CPI(M) in 1992.

Karat, who is termed to be resolute in nature has a tough job in his hand i.e to make the Left Front significant in fast changing India.