If any country needs a new political formulation, it is India! People seem to have lost faith even in the existing electoral system. Well, a democracy only becomes meaningful, when it offer voters meaningful choices. Between a moribund monarchical dynastic party and an anti-modern communal outfit, an Indian voter has no meaningful choice. Under these situations, we strongly need a third front to rise.
Just having a democracy is not the answer. Greece, Spain and England were citadels of democracy, yet in the past year they witnessed deep unrest. The main feature of the popular mood in all these countries was anger. There was governmental incompetence leading to economic mess. Sounds familiar? Eruptions in these countries must make us, especially our rulers, think. Interestingly, for a country as diverse and populous like India, an immediate answer to many problems lies in rise of a strong third front. This is not a new concept. Numerous attempts to build a third front in India have failed- may it be the loud Jayaprakash Narayan movement which was followed by an inefficient Janata Party government, or may it be the fall of the Indian left torn apart between textbook ideology and ground realities.
Interestingly, no one cared to notice, but a new model to build the Indian third front was recently formulated by Anna Hazare himself, when he had said, "all clean and non-corrupt politicians must leave their political parties and come together to form a new independent party". This sounds more practical than the idea of a bunch of amateurs forming a party. The struggles being faced by parties like Professionals Party (Mumbai), Lok Paritran (Bangalore), Lok Satta Party (Andhra) and Jago Party (Rajasthan) have made it clear that elections in India cannot be won merely on the basis of qualifications and intent. “Know-how” is the decisive factor! I guess the answer lies in honest politicians of different parties coming together and becoming pitamahs of these well intended parties . It is on these few good men who can bring back the lost concept of India!