Third Front unlikely to make huge impact: Manini Chatterjee

Veteran political journalist Manini Chatterjee does not see the Third Front making a significant impact during the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Chatterjee, who the National Affairs Editor at The Telegraph, said the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will do phenomenally well cashing on the Narendra Modi wave that is currently sweeping the country.

On Tuesday, leaders of nine of the 11 parties seeking to form the Third Front met in New Delhi's Tripura Bhavan, but failed to arrive at a common agenda or a seat-sharing formula. Chatterjee said lack of a common agenda is the chief drawback of the group. It can only hope to claim Centre if both NDA and UPA fail to cross the 300-seat mark, she said. India has seen attempts to form Third Front before every general elections, but  the group cannot make it without the outside support of either the Congress or the BJP.

Chatterjee had earlier observed that Narendra Modi's popularity is soaring in those states where BJP has a strong presence.

Lok Sabha elections are due in the second half of this year although the Election Commission has not announced a formal date as yet.