The Hindu : National : Jaitley says instability held out by the Third Front helped UPA

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Jaitley says instability held out by the Third Front helped UPA

Special Correspondent

“There was a legitimate desire of the people for stability; BJP lost sight of the Third Front factor”

Setbacks to Third Front proved this, he says
“Indian electorate reacts in a mature way”

BANGALORE: BJP national general secretary Arun Jaitley on Thursday attributed the National Democratic Alliance’s election debacle to the “legitimate desire” among the people for political stability.

This desire was triggered by the pre-poll prospect of political instability thrown up by the Third Front trying to emerge as a balancing force with respect to the formation of a government at the Centre, he added.

Analysing the party’s poor overall performance at a meeting of the BJP’s legislators and newly elected MPs on Thursday, Mr. Jaitley said the Third Front was formed with the promise to form a government with a tally of a little over 100 seats. This happened close on the heels of the people witnessing how certain allies of the UPA had “obstructed the process of decision-making for that government for nearly four and a half years.” Hence, the prospect of the Third Front becoming a balancing political force created a desire for stability.

Architects of instability

Calling the leaders who formed the Third Front as “architects of political instability,” he said the desire for political stability was evident among voters as all the key allies of the Third Front had suffered a major setback in polls in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu or Kerala. The antipathy towards the Third Front got converted into gains for the UPA, he said.

According to him, in States where the Third Front was not a major force, people supported parties which provided good governance — as in Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa.

He admitted that the BJP had lost sight of the Third Front factor. “The mature Indian electorate reacts in a mature way,” he said, noting that the Third and Fourth Fronts had evaporated since the announcement of the election results. For the BJP, this had thrown up the challenge of fully occupying the non-Congress space in the Opposition. He said the party would work as an effective Opposition.

Senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, national general secretary Ananth Kumar and State president D.V. Sadananda Gowda attended the meeting.

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