Leaders of JD(U), Left, JD(S) meet to push Third Front idea

Pushing efforts to firm up a Third Front, top leaders of JD(U), Left and JD(S) met here on Monday decided to convene a meeting of 11 parties after the end of the current Parliament session to give concrete shape to a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative. JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, CPI leader A B Bardhan, Bloc General Secretary Debabrata Biswas and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda met at the latter’s residence over an informal breakfast to devise the strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The meeting came five days after 11 non-BJP and non-Congress parties met here to forge a common strategy in Parliament, which was seen as a prelude to formation of a third alternative.