New Delhi: After the failed attempt to form a Third Front, CPI has admitted that it was "a mistake" by the Left Front to attempt such a formation before the Lok Sabha polls with the regional parties which were more interested in increasing their seat count.
Noting that most of the possible allies in the Third Front are regional parties, former CPI general secretary A B Bardhan also said the embarrassment of its premature failure could have been avoided if the Left had not gone into seat sharing talks with them before the elections.
"Such a Front can come about only after the elections," to a news channel.
"I think you see we need not have gone on trying to work out you see adjustments with all regional parties. That we need not have tried. Because some of the regional parties wanted to maximise their seats and they were not willing to concede any seat to the Left," he said.
Asked whether he would accept that the attempt to work out regional arrangements with regional parties was a mistake, Bardhan said, "All the regional parties, was a mistake."
He, however, said it was not an "embarrassing failure" of the Left Front.
"It is difficult to put it together before the elections, because a third front can come about only with a non Congress, non BJP parties. Mostly these are regional parties," he said.
Bardhan also admitted that he was "disappointed" by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's behaviour and felt "slighted" by her offer of only one seat to the CPI in the state, while repeatedly pointing out that Jayalalithaa was the one who approached the Left Parties and announced the alliance.
"AIADMK invited us first. When talks started for the seats, they only offered one seat each. So we told them thank you we don't want one seat," he said.
When pointed out his statement that Jayalalithaa is a potential Prime Minister, he said, "May I say it is she who invited us for talks. I didn't go to her and it is she who announced to the press that we are having an alliance."
