Days after Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) chief Bachchu Kadu expressed his desire to form a Third Front before the ensuing Maharashtra Assembly polls, he has found two parties ready to join hands and challenge the BJP-led Mahayuti and the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi. Farmer leader Raju Shetti and AIMIM state chief Imtiaz Jaleel on Monday said they were to join the Third Front, if it was going to provide an alternative to Mahayuti and MVA. Last week, Shetti went to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and met Imtiaz Jaleel at his residence. "Yes, we discussed the possibility of forming a Third Front. Both agreed to take the initiative to form the front," Shetti said. Jaleel too confirmed that they explored the possibility of the Third Front. "We held a discussion about a Third Front. We came to the conclusion that there was space for a Third Front in Maharashtra." Shetti said a Third Front can have a common leadership. "A common leadership which is acceptable to all the segments can really take it forward," he said Jaleel said during his discussion with Shetti, they also discussed about a common minimum programme for the Third Front. "We are positive about a Third Front. We are confident that it will emerge as a force to reckon with and take on the Mahayuti and MVA. We will have to formulate a common minimum programme," he said. As for inviting Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar, Shetti said, "VBA has a large voter base. I am keen on having VBA in the Third Front. We will discuss this issue when we meet." VBA had a tie up with AIMIM before the 2019 elections. However, it dumped AIMIM and contested elections on its own. Similarly, the VBA had a tie up with Shiv Sena (UBT) before the 2024 elections and there was a possibility that it would join MVA. That too didn't take place and VBA contested on its own, faring miserably. Shetti said after Kadu holds a rally at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on August 9 to clarify his stance on the Third Front, things will become clearer. Shetti was "ditched" by the MVA. He was promised support from Hatkanangle Lok Sabha but the Sena fielded its own candidate. Sena wanted Shetti to contest on its party ticket, which he refused. Announcing the third front on July 28, Kadu had said it would be called the farmers’ front. “In the forthcoming Assembly elections, we wil have a farmers’ front… If Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil wants to join the farmers’ front, he is welcome,” Kadu had said. However, on Sunday, Jarange rejected the possibility of his joining any front or alliance. "I don't believe in joining any alliance. We will field our candidates in all 288 seats. I will contest as an independent candidate," he said. Kadu's decision to go ahead with a third front has a lot to do with his relation with the Mahayuti. Though he was the first MLA to join hands with the BJP when Eknath Shinde staged a rebellion and split the Shiv Sena in June 2022, he is upset as he has not been included in the Mahayuti cabinet. A miffed Kadu had strongly opposed Mahayuti candidate Navneet Rana from Amravati seat, which she ultimately lost. “We wanted to raise the issues of farmers, labourers, and disabled people. But the ruling side does not have time to discuss such matters… We will see how the Chief Minister responds. If the response is not satisfactory, we will reach out to farmers and the common people before taking the next decision," Kadu had said last week.
