'Third front pointless': Stalin calls for Congress as pivot in Oppn unity against BJP

Stalin was also categorical that an anti-BJP front without the Congress was not a 'workable option'

Strongly pitching for Congress as fulcrum of Opposition alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, DMK President M K Stalin on Wednesday made a fervent appeal to parties opposed to the BJP to “stand united” and fight the polls together, even as he dismissed the talk of a Third Front as “pointless.”

Sharing the dais with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav to celebrate his 70th birthday, Stalin said the 2024 elections was meant to decide on who should not be allowed to “govern India” rather than deciding who should govern the country.

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Contending that opposition parties will only be at loss if they decide national politics depending on calculations at regional level, Stalin asked all parties including Congress to realise this fact and recalled his appeal to Rahul Gandhi in 2021 to lead the anti-BJP front at the national level.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was also categorical that an anti-BJP front without the Congress was not a “workable option” and said Opposition parties in the country should take a leaf out of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, an amalgamation of several political parties, which has won all elections held in Tamil Nadu after 2019.

“Opposition parties should be united. At the same time, we should reject the talks about non-Congress alliance. It will not work out. Post-electoral alliance is also not practical. Talks of Third Front are pointless. It (Third Front) will never reach the shore. All political parties opposed to the BJP should understand this simple electoral arithmetic and stand united,” Stalin said.

The DMK chief’s assertion comes as a major boost for the Congress, which is still being cold-shouldered by several Opposition parties. More than once, Stalin underlined the importance of Congress in taking on the BJP, while also asking the grand old party to bury its differences with others.

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“The 2024 election is to decide who should not rule rather than to decide who should rule. We have to politically defeat the BJP that attempts to convert united India into unitary, autocratic India through divisive, communal fascism. I am glad that my birthday event has transformed into a meeting to chalk out our strategies to win that battle,” Stalin said, and asked leaders present on the stage to take this message to the entire country.

He also lauded the Congress for adopting a resolution making clear its intentions on fighting the BJP by asking all parties opposed to the saffron party at its Plenary session in Raipur, saying he considered it as “my birthday gift” from the Congress.

Referring to the BJP’s unitarian policies and accusing it of “waging a war” against Opposition-ruled states, Stalin stressed for unity among all parties and considered the meeting as the foundation stone for the success in the 2024 polls.

“The 2024 General Elections is an opportunity to win our ideological battle. Let's unite and march towards victory,” he said, while appealing to DMK cadre to ensure that the alliance wins all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next year’s election.