Third front in works? After Uddhav, Kanimozhi likely to meet Mamata

The buzz of reviving the worn-out idea of a third political front, without the Congress, at the national level is back again. With the next Lok Sabha elections still three years away, the DMK seems to have taken up the cudgels to initiate a third front to take on the BJP directly. Over the past few weeks, DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi has reached out to a string of prominent regional leaders. Her next stop is likely to be Kolkata to meet Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

The catalyst is believed to be the apparent strain in Congress-DMK ties after the grand old party walked out of the decades-old alliance in Tamil Nadu to join hands with Vijay's TVK. Since then, the MK Stalin-led party has taken a confrontational stance with the Congress. It also skipped the INDIA bloc meeting in June.

Moreover, before the Monsoon session of Parliament, Kanimozhi had written to the Speaker seeking a separate seating arrangement for her party's MPs. It was accepted by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Kanimozhi's presence at the customary tea party hosted by the Speaker in August, which was boycotted by the INDIA bloc, further added to the rift buzz.KANIMOZHI MEETS UDDHAV, SHARAD PAWAR

Now, Kanimozhi's back-to-back meetings with regional leaders are being seen as DMK's bid to redefine its space in national politics.

The DMK MP first met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at his Matoshree residence last weekend. While the details were kept under wraps, Sena (UBT) leaders told TOI that the discussions centred around the delimitation bill and the future of the INDIA bloc after the Congress's move in Tamil Nadu.

The meeting came against the backdrop of the Centre renewing its push to pass the delimitation bill, which it has linked to the women's reservation in Parliament. The southern states have opposed the bill, arguing that it would reduce their political representation.

The meeting lasted for an hour. Kanimozhi and Uddhav also discussed how regional parties could play a role in the opposition.

Kanimozhi then travelled to Delhi, where she held separate discussions with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule. In August, speculation of a rift between the NCP (SP) and Congress in Maharashtra gained ground amid talks of a possible reunification of the two NCP factions.

Kanimozhi's next stop is likely to be Kolkata, where she may meet Mamata Banerjee, whose TMC is facing its gravest crisis since its formation.

After the BJP ended the TMC's 15-year reign in Bengal, Mamata's party has been hit by rebellions in the assembly as well as in the party's parliamentary ranks.

The meetings have added to speculation that the DMK is reaching out to regional parties that have had recent differences with the Congress.THIRD FRONT - A WORN OUT IDEA?

However, the idea of a third political front without the Congress is not new. Previously, experiments have not borne fruit.

In 2013, Mamata Banerjee herself pushed for a federal front of non-Congress, non-BJP parties. Five years later, then Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao revived the idea, holding meetings with Mamata and Naveen Patnaik ahead of the 2019 elections. However, it fizzled out before the polls.

A fresh effort was made by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal even sent a dinner invite to seven chief ministers of opposition states. The idea was to form a "progressive group of states" who were battling the Centre on similar issues. It also did not materialise.

With Kanimozhi criss-crossing the country to meet satraps, the idea has been revived again. For now, however, the 'third front' idea remains a speculation.