New Delhi, Mar 28 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said he would prefer the wait and watch approach on moves being made by other political leaders to form a third front in the run-up to the 2014 general elections.
Patnaik, who was here to meet Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat to discuss hurdles in the way of the Polavaram project and other water-related issues, said: "We will have to wait and watch and see how these matters progress."
Meanwhile, Rawat dismissed the idea of a third front being formed, saying several attempts have been made in the past for such a coalition, and all of them aborted prematurely.
He further said that he was confident of the Samajwadi Party continuing its support to the UPA after the 2014 polls.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has evinced interest in forming a Third Front of political parties committed to social change in Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
"A coalition government is the need of the country, as no single party can come to power at Centre on its own strength," he has said.
The Congress-led UPA Government has been in a minority since September last year when Mamata Banerjee pulled out her Trinamool Congress over the Centre's economic reforms, including opening the retail sector to foreign super-chains like Wal-Mart.
The DMK also last week withdrew its support to the UPA over the issue of alleged human rights violations of Sri Lankan Tamils, and ruled out any reconsideration.
This move of the DMK has made the UPA Government vulnerable despite its assertions of having a parliamentary majority. The ruling coalition will now eye for support from the regional parties, which includes the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party.
With the pullout of the 18 DMK MPs in the Lok Sabha, the strength of the UPA Government declines from 295 to 277 in the Rajya Sabha. (ANI)
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